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Synthesis of multi-arm poly(l-lactide) and its modification on linear polylactide

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Abstract

Multi-arm poly(l-lactide)s (PLLAs) were prepared by using alcohols with different numbers of hydroxyl groups as initiator and Sn(Oct)2 as catalyst. The structure and composition was confirmed by NMR and GPC analysis. A series of blends of PLLA/multi-arm PLLA were prepared by melt-mixing. Several techniques were applied to investigate the effects of multi-arm PLLA on the melt rheology, crystallization, thermal stability, morphology and mechanical properties of the linear PLLA. Multi-arm PLLA enhanced crystallization rate of PLLA as a nucleating agent. Rheological analysis showed that the viscosity of PLLA at low frequencies increased after addition of multi-arm PLLA. In addition, the tensile strength was increased with the increase of multi-arm PLLA and can achieve a maximum. FE-SEM measurements revealed that the surface of blends was homogenous, indicating good compatibility between PLLA and multi-arm PLLA. The results had an important guiding role in PLA modification, which provided an opportunity for generating new PLA blending systems with enhanced properties.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (Key Project 51203155, Project 51303176), National High-tech R&D Program of China (863 Program Project 2015AA034004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, China

    Xinchao Bian, Bao Zhang, Zhiqiang Sun, Sheng Xiang, Gao Li & Xuesi Chen

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  1. Xinchao Bian
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  2. Bao Zhang
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  3. Zhiqiang Sun
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  4. Sheng Xiang
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  5. Gao Li
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  6. Xuesi Chen
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Correspondence to Bao Zhang or Xuesi Chen.

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Bian, X., Zhang, B., Sun, Z. et al. Synthesis of multi-arm poly(l-lactide) and its modification on linear polylactide. Polym. Bull. 74, 245–262 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-016-1713-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-016-1713-4

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