02487nas a2200277   4500008004100000022001400041245012500055210006900180260000900249300001400258490000600272520153800278653002001816653002001836653003501856653002101891653001401912100002501926700002001951700001901971700002301990700001902013700002002032700003102052856012602083       2024                        eng d  a2637-610500aEnhancing the crystallization kinetics and mechanical properties of poly(lactic acid) blends for 3D printing application0 aEnhancing the crystallization kinetics and mechanical properties  cMAY   a5754-57620 v63 a<p>
	3D printing of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) blends has been attempted to resolve issues such as inherent brittleness and slow crystallization rate of PLA. However, a persistent challenge remains in the form of phase separation or gradual migration of the blended soft polymer or plasticizers. To simultaneously enhance the miscibility of the blends and toughness of 3D-printed parts, a triblock copolymer PLA-PEG-PLA was synthesized and blended with PLA in varying proportions (5, 10, 15, and 20 wt %). Blending only 10-20 wt % low molecular weight PLA-PEG-PLA into PLA yielded a miscible blend that showed a 45-fold increase in elongation at break and a 23-fold enhancement in toughness over neat PLA. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of fractured cross sections revealed a brittle to ductile transition in 3D-printed PLA/PLA-PEG-PLA samples. Isothermal crystallization studies and data analysis using the Avrami equation showed an enhancement in the crystal growth rate and overall rate of crystallization. The blends achieved half of their crystallinity in approximately 3 min, a significant improvement over the 9 min required by PLA alone. This underscores the efficiency of our approach. This was also evident in the spherulite growth of 3D-printed PLA and mPLA blends when examined using polarized optical microscopy (POM). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report exploring the use of blends that include PLA and low molecular weight PLA-PEG-PLA triblock copolymers for 3D printing applications.</p>
10aCrystallization10aFFF 3D printing10aPLA-PEG-PLA triblock copolymer10apoly(lacticacid)10atoughness1 aKothavade, Premkumar1 aYadav, Prashant1 aGopal, Animesh1 aPol, Harshawardhan1 aKafi, Abdullah1 aBateman, Stuart1 aShanmuganathan, Kadhiravan  uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/enhancing-crystallization-kinetics-and-mechanical-properties-polylactic-acid-blends-3d