Amorphous and crystalline morphologies in glycolic acid and lactic acid polymers

Abstract This paper describes an investigation of a number of parameters which affect the physical structures of glycolic acid (GA) and lactic acid (LA). It has been found that the cooling rate of a quenching process determines the amorphous-crystalline morphology balance, and that the effect of a similar quenching process will vary with the molecular weight of the polymer. At very high molecular weights, even very rapid quenching does not produce higher degrees of amorphous phase. Copolymerization of PGA or of PLA with poly(ethylene oxide) results in either phase blending or phase separation, depending on the copolymer composition and the segmental chain length. The degree of crystallinity of the PGA or PLA component in the copolymer is mostly affected by copolymerization in a state of phase blending.