Thermal analysis of the double-melting behavior of poly(L-lactic acid)

The melting and crystallization behavior of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA; weight-average molecular weight = 3 X 10(5)) was studied with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). DSC curves for PLLA samples were obtained at various cooling rates (CRs) from the melt (210 degreesC). The peak crystallization temperature and the exothermic heat of crystallization determined from the DSC curve decreased almost linearly with increasing log(CR). DSC melting curves for the melt-crystallized samples were obtained at various heating rates (HRs). The double-melting behavior was confirmed by the double endothermic peaks, a high-temperature peak (H) and a low-temperature peak (L), that appeared in the DSC curves at slow HRs for the samples prepared with a slow CR. Peak L increased with increasing HR, whereas peak H decreased. The peak melting temperatures of L and H [T-m(L) and T-m(H)] decreased linearly with log(HR). The appearance region of the double-melting peaks (L and H) was illustrated in a CR-HR map. Peak L decreased with increasing CR, whereas peak H increased. T-m(L) and T-m(H) decreased almost linearly with log(CR). The characteristics of the crystallization and double-melting behavior were explained by the slow rates of crystallization and recrystallization, respectively. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 25-32, 2004.