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Preparation and characterization of PLLA–ESO/surface-grafted silica nanocomposites

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Abstract

Various amounts of surface-grafted silica (g-SiO2) and un-grafted (SiO2) nanoparticles were solution blended with a copolymer of l-lactide and epoxidized soybean oil (PLLA–ESO) or PLLA. Chemical reaction between the low molecular weight (LMW) PLLA and surface of silica nanoparticles is confirmed by FTIR and TGA analyses. The amount of grafted LMW PLLA investigated by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) was about 14.9%–28.2% in weight. g-SiO2 nanoparticles can be easily dispersed into PLLA–ESO matrix to form a uniform PLLA–ESO/g-SiO2 composite. Thermal properties of PLLA–ESO/g-SiO2 and PLLA/g-SiO2 nanocomposites were subsequently investigated by the differential scanning calorimeter measurements (DSC). DSC analyses indicated that g-SiO2 nanoparticles can serve as a nucleating agent for the crystallization of PLLA–ESO in the composites, while the melting temperature (T m) and the glass transition temperature (T g) of PLLA–ESO/g-SiO2 nanocomposites seemed to be independent of loading of g-SiO2 particles. The DSC curves of PLLA/g-SiO2 nanocomposite obviously showed double melting peaks, while that of PLLA–ESO/g-SiO2 nanocomposites only a single melting peak. PLLA–ESO/g-SiO2 composites exhibited a higher tensile strength and elongation than that of PLLA–ESO/SiO2 composites.

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Acknowledgments

The work was financially supported by The Key Technology R&D Program of Jiangsu (Project No. BE2010176), Natural science fund for colleges and universities in Jiangsu Province (Project No. 08KJB430004), Scientific and Technological Developing Scheme of Zhenjiang City (Project No. SH2008073).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, 212003, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Jun Zou, Teng Ma, Jing Zhang & Wei He

  2. Key Laboratory for Specially Functional Polymeric Materials and Related Technology of the Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, People’s Republic of China

    Jun Zou & Farong Huang

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  1. Jun Zou
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  2. Teng Ma
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  4. Wei He
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Correspondence to Jun Zou.

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Zou, J., Ma, T., Zhang, J. et al. Preparation and characterization of PLLA–ESO/surface-grafted silica nanocomposites. Polym. Bull. 67, 1261–1271 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-011-0485-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-011-0485-0

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