Poly(lactide acid)(PLA)foams have shown considerable promise as eco-friendly alternatives to nondegradable plastic foams,such as polystyrene(PS)foams.Nevertheless,PLA foam typically suffers from low heat-resistance and poor cellular structure stemming from its inherent slow crystallization rate and low melt strength.In this study,a high-performance PLA foam with well-defined cell morphology,exceptional strength and enhanced heat-resistance was successfully fabricated via a core-back microcellular injection molding(MIM)process.Differential scanning calorimetry(DSC)results revealed that the added hydrazine-based nucleating agent(HNA)significantly increased the crystallization temperature and accelerated the crystallization process of PLA.Remarkably,the addition of a 1.5 wt%of HNA led to a significant reduction in PLA’s cell size,from 43.5µm to 2.87µm,and a remarkable increase in cell density,from 1.08×10^(7)cells/cm^(3)to 2.15×10^(10)cells/cm^(3).This enhancement resulted in a final crystallinity of approximately 55.7%for the PLA blend foam,a marked improvement compared to the pure PLA foam.Furthermore,at 1.5 wt%HNA concentration,the tensile strength and tensile toughness of PLA blend foams demonstrated remarkable improvements of 136%and 463%,respectively.Additionally,the Vicat softening temperature of PLA blend foam increased significantly to 134.8°C,whereas the pure PLA foam exhibited only about 59.7℃.These findings underscore the potential for the preparation of lightweight injection-molded PLA foam with enhanced toughness and heat-resistance,which offers a viable approach for the production of high-performance PLA foams suitable for large-scale applications.
Chemical upcycling of end-of-life poly(lactide) plastics to lactide,lactate ester and new poly(lactide)has been achieved by using magnesium bis[bis(trimethylsilyl)amide][Mg(HMDS)_(2)]as promoter.Mg(HMDS)2 showed high efficiency in L-lactide polymerization and poly(lactide) depolymerization.Mg(HMDS)_(2)/Ph_(2) CHOH catalytic system displayed high ring-opening selectivity and the characteristic of immortal polymerization.Taking advantage of transesterification,depolymerizations of end-oflife poly(lactide) plastics to lactate ester (polymer to value-added chemicals) and lactide (polymer to monomer) were achieved with high yields.Besides,a new“depolymerization-repolymerization”strategy was proposed to directly transform poly(lactide) into new poly(lactide).This work provides a theoretical basis for the design of polymerization and depolymerization catalysts and promotes the development of degradable polymers.
Xianyue ZhouQiuyang LiuGuangqiang XuRulin YangHongguang SunQinggang Wang
