UC San Diego

Poly(lactide acid) is a biofriendly, biorenewable and biodegradable polymer that is widely used in the biomedical industry. One of its drawbacks that is limiting its usage is its relative low strength and toughness compared to conventionally used metals. Multiple groups have worked for decades, trying to improve the mechanical properties of PLA. This work discusses the transition of failure modes shown on PLA and how that relates to the ductilebrittle transition in aging without the change in the degree of crystallinity. This work also used melt stretching to make PLA that can maintain ductility against aging at multiple directions. Lastly, the growth of stress cracking of PLA while merged in water is also briefly studied.