10.1021/jp412519g.s001 Jishan Qiu Jishan Qiu Jipeng Guan Jipeng Guan Hengti Wang Hengti Wang Shanshan Zhu Shanshan Zhu Xiaojun Cao Xiaojun Cao Quan-lin Ye Quan-lin Ye Yongjin Li Yongjin Li Enhanced Crystallization Rate of Poly(l‑lactic acid) (PLLA) by Polyoxymethylene (POM) Fragment Crystals in the PLLA/POM Blends with a Small Amount of POM American Chemical Society 2014 POM loadings PLLA matrix glass transition behaviors nucleate PLLA crystallization PLLA spherulites crystallization rate Enhanced Crystallization Rate POM fragment crystals blend 2014-06-26 00:00:00 Journal contribution https://acs.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Enhanced_Crystallization_Rate_of_Poly_l_lactic_acid_PLLA_by_Polyoxymethylene_POM_Fragment_Crystals_in_the_PLLA_POM_Blends_with_a_Small_Amount_of_POM/2279419 Phase diagrams and glass transition behaviors of poly­(l-lactic acid)/polyoxymethylene (PLLA/POM) blends have been investigated in our previous work (<i>Macromolecules</i> <b>2013</b>, <i>46</i>, 5806–5814). In this work, the crystallization behaviors and physical properties of the PLLA/POM blends with the PLLA as the major component have been systematically studied. POM was crystallized into the fragment crystals that were finely dispersed in the PLLA matrix when cooling down from the melt of the blends. It was found that the POM fragment crystals accelerated the crystallization process of PLLA matrix and increased the final crystallinity of PLLA significantly in the blends. At the same time, the PLLA spherulites nucleated by POM fragment crystals were much smaller than those obtained from neat PLLA. It was further found that the crystallization rate of PLLA was quite dependent upon the POM loadings and the highest crystallization rate was observed at POM loadings of 7 wt %. It is considered that the POM fragment crystals take the nuclei role to initiate the crystallization of PLLA at low POM loadings, while a high content of POM in the blends leads to the large POM spherulites that cannot nucleate PLLA crystallization effectively. The obtained PLLA/POM blends at low POM loadings with small PLLA spherulites exhibited excellent optical transmittance and good mechanical performance.