Characterizing co-continuous morphology development in miscible polylactic acid / polyvinyl alcohol biodegradable blends

Jun Peng*, Yi Yan Peng, Lih Sheng Turng, Xiang Fang Peng, Xiao Fei Sun

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Targeted for tissue engineering scaffold applications, biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) and water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) resins were employed to produce miscible blends by means of melt blending in a thermokinetic mixer (K-mixer). Different volume fractions of PLA and PVA were melt mixed. After water leaching (extraction) of the sacrificial PVA domains, co-continuous morphology development of the blend systems was investigated via scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The dimensions of the voids occupied by PVA in the blends were measured using an image analysis tool. In addition, the miscibility of these blends was evaluated by thermal characteristic measurements using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). It was shown that the continuity development and microstructure features of PLA/PVA blends were dependent on the component composition and the miscibility.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication68th Annual Technical Conference of the Society of Plastics Engineers 2010, ANTEC 2010
Pages841-845
Number of pages5
StatePublished - 2010
Externally publishedYes
Event68th Annual Technical Conference of the Society of Plastics Engineers 2010, ANTEC 2010 - Orlando, FL, United States
Duration: 16 05 201020 05 2010

Publication series

NameAnnual Technical Conference - ANTEC, Conference Proceedings
Volume2

Conference

Conference68th Annual Technical Conference of the Society of Plastics Engineers 2010, ANTEC 2010
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityOrlando, FL
Period16/05/1020/05/10

Keywords

  • Biodegradable blend
  • Interconnected porous matrix
  • Miscibility
  • Polylactic acid (PLA)

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