Designer Lactide-Derived Poly(or Oligo)mers in KRICT: Plasticization and Toughening
발표자
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초록
내용
Poly(lactide) (PLA) is a renewable, degradable (or compostable), and thermoplastic polymer with the mechanical properties similar to poly(styrene). Unfortunately, PLA is inherently brittle and possesses poor melt strength. In particular, the fragileness of PLA limits its current use for disposable packing. Melt blending between PLA and functionalized rubbery materials can toughen the plastic. The recent efforts introduce copolymer architectures with a majority PLA block and minority rubbery block with phase separation on nanoscale, in which precise molecular design is also needed. To achieve the hierarchically structured copolymers for sustainability, flexibility, surface coating, and biodegradability, various architectures prepared via controlled polymerization/oligomerization, post-functionalization, cross-linking, and coupling chemistry should be developed.