Physical Properties, Crystallization, and Thermal/Hydrolytic Degradation of Poly(L‐lactide)/Nano/Micro‐Diamond Composites

Abstract The effects of incorporated nano/micro‐diamond (NMD) on the physical properties, crystallization, thermal/hydrolytic degradation of poly( L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) were investigated for a wide NMD concentration range of 0–10 wt.‐%. Incorporated NMD increased the tensile modulus and strength of PLLA films but decreased the elongation at break of PLLA films. Incorporated NMD accelerated the crystallization of PLLA during heating and cooling and increased the absolute crystallization enthalpy of PLLA films (except for an NMD concentration of 10 wt.‐% during cooling) but did not alter the crystallization mechanism. Incorporated NMD increased and decreased the thermal stability of PLLA films for NMD concentrations of 1–5 and 10 wt.‐%, respectively, and increased the hydrolytic degradation resistance of PLLA films. magnified image