The Effect of Mold Conditions on Heat Resistance of Injection-Molded Stereocomplex Polylactide-b-polyethylene Glycol-b-Polylactide Bioplastic

The effect of mold conditions was investigated in terms of mold temperature (30oC and 90oC) and cooling time (30 s and 60 s) on the heat resistance of injection-molded bars for stereocomplex polylactide-b-polyethylene glycol-b-polylactide (scPLA-PEG-PLA). Comparative study was performed for poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) and PLLA-b-PEG-b-PLLA (PLLA-PEG-PLLA). scPLA-PEG-PLA was 90/10 (w/w) PLLA-PEG-PLLA/poly(D-lactide) blend. scPLA-PEG-PLA exhibited the easiest crystallization upon cooling scan as shown by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Higher mold-temperature and longer cooling-time induced higher degree of crystallinity as assessed by X-ray diffractometry (XRD) except for PLLA bars. The heat resistance of both PLLA-PEG-PLLA and scPLA-PEG-PLA bars was improved with increased mold-temperature and cooling-time as shown by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), vicat softening temperature (VST) and heat distortion-resistance tests except for PLLA bars. In conclusion, the heat resistance of injection-molded bars prepared at 90˚C mold temperature was in the order scPLA-PEG-PLA ] PLLA-PEG-PLLA ] PLLA. The results suggested that flexible PLLA-PEG-PLLA and scPLA-PEG-PLA with high degrees of crystallinity were successfully obtained by injection molding for use as good heat-resistant bioplastic products.