Crystallization modification of poly(lactide) by using nucleating agents and stereocomplexation

Abstract

Abstract Poly(lactide), PLA, as one of the most promising biopolymers, has been receiving increasing attention in recent years because of its excellent performances in renewability, mechanical properties, biocompatibility and biodegradability. However, its application is limited by its brittleness and low heat distortion temperatures (HDT). The low HDT mainly results from a low crystallization rate and lack of crystallinity after fast processing, e.g. injection molding. Consequently, considerable attention was paid, in recent years, to achieve fast(er) crystallization of PLA. In here, we briefly review the research progress in the crystallization modification of PLA notably by means of adding nucleating agents and stereocomplexation.