Nucleation of Poly(lactide) Partially Wet Droplets in Ternary Blends with Poly(butylene succinate) and Poly(ε-caprolactone).

ABSTRACT: This work presents the first investigation on the crystallization behavior of partially wet droplets in immiscible ternary blends. Poly(lactide), poly(ε-caprolactone), and poly(butylene succinate) (PLA, PCL, and PBS, respectively) were melt blended in a 10/45/45 weight ratio to produce a "partial wetting" morphology with droplets of the PLA minor phase located at the interface between the other two major components. The crystallization process of the higher melting PLA droplets was studied by polarized light optical microscopy, while the other components remain in the molten state. We found that neighboring partially wet droplets nucleate in close sequence. This is unexpected since partially wet droplets display points of three-phase contact and, hence, should not touch each other. Moreove

SUBMITTER: Fenni SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8016171 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature