Competition between Liquid-liquid De-mixing, Crystallization, and Glass Transition in Solutions of PLA of Different Stereochemistry and DEET

Liquid-liquid(L-L)de-mixing and vitrification of solutions of either crystallizable poly(L-lactic acid)(PLLA)or non-crystallizable poly(D/L-lactic acid)(PDLLA)with 50 m%N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide(DEET)were analyzed by calorimetry and cloud-point measurements,which allows drawing conclusions about the effect of polymer stereochemistry on the phase behavior.Regardless of the PLA stereochemistry,vitrification of the solutions on fast cooling,hindering crystallization of PLLA,occurred below-20℃ and suppressed prior L-L de-mixing.The experimental results prove that crystallization in samples containing crystallizable PLLA,observed at around 55℃ on slow cooling,is not preceded by L-L de-mixing.

Melt Crystallization of Poly(butylene 2,6-naphthalate)

Poly(butylene 2,6-naphthalate)(PBN)is a crystallizable linear polyester containing a rigid naphthalene unit and flexible methylene spacer in the chemical repeat unit.Polymeric materials made of PBN exhibit excellent anti-abrasion and low friction properties,superior chemical resista nee,and outstanding gas barrier characteristics.Many of the properties rely on the presence of crystals and the formatio n of a semicrystalline morphology.To develop specific crystal structures and morphologies during cooling the melt,precise information about the melt-crystallization process is required.This review article summarizes the current knowledge about the temperature-controlled crystal polymorphism of PBN.At rather low supercooling of the melt,with decreasi ng crystal I izatio n temperature,0'-and a-crystals grow directly from the melt and organize in largely different spherulitic superstructures.Formation of a-crystals at high supercooling may also proceed via intermediate formation of a transient monotropic liquid crystalline structure,then yielding a non-spherulitic semicrystalline morphology.Crystallization of PBN is rather fast since its suppression requires cooling the melt at a rate higher than 6000 K-s_1.For this reason,investigation of the two-step crystallization process at low temperatu res requires application of sophisticated experimental tools.These in elude temperatureresolved X-ray scattering techniques using fast detectors and synchrotron-based X-rays and fast scanning chip calorimetry.Fast scanning chip calorimetry allows freezi ng the transie nt liquid-crystalline structure before its con version into a-crystals,by fast cooling to below its glass transition temperature.Subsequent an alysis using polarized-light optical microscopy reveals its texture and X-ray scatteri ng con firms the smectic arrangement of the mesogens.The combination of a large variety of experimental techniques allows obtaining a complete picture about crystallization of PBN in the entire range of melt-supercoolings down to the glass transition,including quantitative data about the crystallization kinetics,semicrystalline morphologies at the micrometer length scale,as well as nanoscale X-ray structure information.