AbstractA new piperonylic acid derivative (BPASD) was synthesized and evaluated as an organic
nucleating agent for poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) via melt-crystallization;
the other behaviors including cold-crystallization, melting process after
crystallization, thermal stability in air atmosphere, and optical and mechanical
properties of PLLA/BPASD samples were also investigated. The results of the
melt-crystallization investigation showed that, in comparison to virgin PLLA, the
BPASD could induce PLLA to crystallize in higher temperature region or at a faster
cooling rate, suggesting that the BPASD as a heterogeneous nucleating agent could
promote the crystallization of PLLA, but the melt-crystallization depended on the
cooling rate, BPASD concentration, and the final melting temperature. With increasing
of BPASD concentration, a shift to the lower temperature of cold-crystallization peak
and decrease of crystallization enthalpy indicated that BPASD had an inhibition for
the cold-crystallization of PLLA to some extent. The heating rate, crystallization
temperature, the BPASD, and its concentration were critical factors to the melting
process, and double-melting peaks appeared in heating were assigned to
melting–recrystallization. Thermal decomposition behavior revealed that the
addition of BPASD reduced the thermal stability of PLLA, but the interaction of PLLA
and BPASD could prevent the decrease of the onset decomposition temperature. Further,
the BPASD also decreased the light transmittance and elongation at the break of PLLA,
but the tensile modulus and tensile strength of PLLA were enhanced.