A facile strategy for the preparation of polylactide nano-microspheres with enhanced stereo-complexations

Stereo-complexed polylactide (sc-PLA) nano-microspheres were separated by adding poor solvent to the poly(l-lactide) (PLLA)/poly(d-lactide) (PDLA) blend solution. The effects of different process parameters (concentration, processing method, ratio of PLLA/PDLA blend solution to poor solvent) on the microsphere particle size were investigated. The microscopic morphology, crystallinity, and thermal properties were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, two-dimensional wide-angle X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated that when the concentration reached 10 wt% and the PLLA/PDLA blend solution to poor solvent ratio was 1 : 5, the sc-PLA nano-microspheres exhibited more regular shape, good sphericity and uniform particle size, and the highest crystallinity. Additionally, the degree of crystallinity of the stereo-complexed crystals was as high as 39.60%, the rate of stereo-complexation was 99.65%, and the melting temperature reached 220 °C, indicating notable improvement in the crystallization and thermal properties. The sc-PLA nano-microspheres obtained in this research could be used as a nucleating agent for fibers and drug delivery carrier, and the sc-PLA nano-microspheres have broad application prospects in the textile and biomedical fields.