Impact of Zn(Ⅱ) Ions on Crystallization and Thermal Properties of Poly(lactic acid)

The issues of low crystallinity and slow crystallization rate of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) have been widely addressed. In this work, we find that doping PLA with Zn(Ⅱ) ions can speed up the process of crystallization of PLA. Three kinds of Zn(Ⅱ) salts (ZnCl _2 , ZnSt and ZnOAc) were tested in comparison with some other ions such as Mg(Ⅱ) and Ca(Ⅱ). The increased crystallinity and crystallization rate of PLA doping with Zn(Ⅱ) are reflected in FT-IR and variable temperature Raman spectroscopy. The crystallinity is further confirmed or measured with differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. The crystallinity rate of the PLA/ZnSt-0.4 wt% material can reach 22.46% and the crystallinity rate of the PLA/ZnOAc-0.4 wt% material can reach 24.83%, as measured with differential scanning calorimetry.