Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) fiber, owing to its biocompatibility and biodegradability, could be widely used in many related industrial areas. However, high brittleness has been the main obstacle to expanding its applications. So in this paper, carbon nanotube (CNT) nanocapsules were designed to toughen PLA and further reported their effect on the crystallization behavior and mechanical properties of PLA complex fiber. These designed CNT nanocapsules successfully solved the agglomeration of CNTs within the PLA matrix as well as the compatibility issue. In addition, the morphological, mechanical, optical and thermal properties of PLA complex fibers were also studied. The addition of CNT nanocapsules obviously improved the crystallization behavior of PLA fiber. Furthermore, compared with pure PLA, the tensile strength of PLA complex fiber was enhanced by 30.62% and the elongation by 32.2%, so the designed CNT nanocapsules could be used as a toughener for PLA fiber. This research benefits the extension of PLA applications where toughness is an important factor.
In order to prepare the absorbable medical textile material with different degradation rates, two biopolymers of poly L-lactic acid (PLLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) with different degradation rates, were mixed in different proportions, and made into PLLA/PCL masterbatch. The experiment of degradation in vitro was conducted to reveal the degradation behaviour of PLLA/PCL masterbatch, and the characteristics of masterbatch in degradation, such as surface morphol- ogy, chemical structure, crystallization, mass loss and strength, were analyzed. The results indicated that the surface of PLLA/PCL masterbatch was etched in degradation, and the larger proportion of PCL, the less etching and slower degra- dation. The ester bonds were hydrolyzed firstly, and the crystallization region in PLLA/PCL masterbatch was destroyed gradually to form a non-crystalline region in degradation. The degradation rate of PLLA in composite masterbatch was faster than that of PCL. With increasing of PCL involved in masterbatch, the mass loss rate of masterbatch in degrada- tion decreased. In addition, the more PCL involved in composite masterbatch, the lower breaking strength.
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