TY - JOUR A1 - Kricheldorf, H. R. A1 - Weidner, Steffen A1 - Meyer, A. T1 - Poly(L-lactide): Optimization of Melting Temperature and Melting Enthalpy T2 - Materials Advances N2 - Twice recrystallized L-lactide was polymerized with a dozen of different tin or bismuth catalysts in bulk at 160°C for 24 h and was annealed at 150°C afterwards. In two cases Tm values above 197.0°C were obtained. The parameters causing a scattering of the DSC data were studied and discussed. The samples prepared with SnCl2, 2,2-dibutyl-2-stanna-1,3-ditholane (DSTL) or cyclic tin(II) bisphenyldioxide (SnBiph) were subject to annealing programs with variation of time and temperatures, revealing that the Tm´s did not increase. However, an increase of Hm was achieved with maximum values in the range of 93-96 J g-1 corresponding to crystallinities off around 90%. Further studies were performed with once recrystallized L-lactide. Again, those samples directly crystallized from the polymerization process showed the highest Tm values. These data were compared with the equilibrium Tm0 and Hm0 data calculated by several research groups for perfect crystallites. A Tm0 of 213+/-2°C and a Hm0 of 106 J g-1 show the best agreement with the experimental data. The consequences of annealing for the thickness growth of crystallites are discussed on the basis of SAXS measurements. Finally, a comparison of cyclic and linear poly L-lactide)s is discussed. PB - Royal Society for Chemistry KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Transesterification PY - 2021 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-bam/frontdoor/index/index/docId/53865 AN - OPUS4-53865 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-538656 SP - 1 EP - 10 AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany