Abstract
Fracture toughness values of poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) samples hydrolyzed in phosphate-buffered solution for 1 to 24 weeks were measured, and effect of hydrolysis on the fracture toughness was investigated. For both amorphous and crystallized samples, fracture toughness decreased due to hydrolysis. The degradation of fracture toughness was much faster in the crystallized sample than in the amorphous sample. Fractographic studies exhibited that the toughness degradation was mainly caused by the deterioration due to hydrolysis such as crack formation at spherulite interfaces originated from the scission of molecular chains.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 644-651 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | KOBUNSHI RONBUNSHU |
| Volume | 60 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Nov 2003 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Chemical Engineering (miscellaneous)
- Materials Science (miscellaneous)
- Environmental Science(all)
- Polymers and Plastics