We will have the pleasure to host Mohammad RAEF (University of the Basque Country EHU, Spain) for a SIMM seminar next week Thursday February 26 at 2 pm inSalle Nobélium (note the peculiar seminar room). The title of Mohammad’s talk is « Polylactide Stereocomplexation: Controlled Crystallization and Functionality in Soft Polymeric Materials« .
Polylactide Stereocomplexation: Controlled Crystallization and Functionality in Soft Polymeric Materials
Polylactide (PLA) stereocomplexation provides a robust route to engineer polymer properties through stereoselective interactions, controlled crystallization, and hierarchical self-assembly. The association of enantiomeric poly(L-lactide) and poly(D-lactide) chains leads to stereocomplex crystals with a distinct triclinic structure, high packing density, and melting temperatures approximately 50 K higher than those of conventional PLA homocrystals. These characteristics position stereocomplexed PLA as a model soft-matter system, in which molecular structure and chain dynamics directly translate into macroscopic performance. In this seminar, stereocomplexation is discussed as a kinetically governed crystallization process competing with homocrystallization, rather than as a purely thermodynamic outcome. The influence of molecular weight, chain entanglements, processing history, shear fields, thermal protocols, and interfacial interactions on stereocomplex formation is examined. Particular attention is given to how copolymerization, selective nucleation, and multifunctional fillers reshape the crystallization landscape, enabling stereocomplex formation in high-molecular-weight and processing-relevant systems. Beyond enhanced thermal stability, stereocomplex domains act as physical crosslinks and volume-excluding phases that strongly affect chain mobility, mechanical reinforcement, degradation kinetics, and transport phenomena. These effects open extended application potential for stereocomplexed PLA in areas requiring dimensional stability, heat resistance, controlled degradability, and multifunctionality, including advanced packaging, biomedical devices, sustainable composites, and functional soft materials. More broadly, stereocomplexation offers design principles relevant to soft matter science, linking confinement, interfacial crystallization, and multiscale structure–property relationships. By framing PLA stereocomplexation as a tunable platform for controlled crystallization, this seminar highlights its relevance beyond biodegradable polymers, with implications for the rational design of high-performance and sustainable polymeric materials.
Keywords: Stereocomplexation, polymer crystallization, thermomechanical performance, sustainable polymers, structure-property relationship
Reference : Stereocomplexation: from molecular structure to functionality of advanced polylactide systems, Polymer 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2023.126066.
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