This work shows that the environmental-friendly biorenewable and biodegradable poly(lactic acid) (PLLA) can be made to have superior mechanical and thermal characteristics and thus show promise to replace conventional petroleum-based polymers such as polyethylene terephthalate. Using time-resolved polarized optical microscopy (POM), we have investigated how and why conventional crystallization tends to cause deterioration of ductility in semicrystalline PLLA. Specifically, the POM study based on partially crystallized PLLA samples promotes the idea that the spherulitic crystals are mechanically weaker than glassy noncrystalline domains whose cohesive strength stems from the chain networking because of intermolecular uncrossability. By removing the large spherulitic crystal formation and inducing nanocrystal formation through melt-stretching of PLLA in its amorphous state, we identified a completely transparent crystalline state of PLLA that is extremely tough and resistant against heat.

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Cold crystallization of pre-melt stretched PLLA and PET permits growth of nano-confined crystals with entanglement mesh size in undisrupted chain networking.  Such PLLA and PET are ductile, transparent, rigid at the water-boiling temperature.

EOC toughened PP with increased interfacial adhesion due to EOC–PP grafting was prepared by continuous EIReP and in continuation the rheological, morphological and mechanical properties of EOC toughened samples were investigated.