Poly(lactic acid) stereocomplex microspheres as thermally tolerant optical resonators

Abstract

Thermally tolerant polymer optical resonators are fabricated from a stereocomplex of poly(L-lactic acid) and poly(D-lactic acid) through the oil-in-water miniemulsion method. The thermal stability of the microspheres of the stereocomplex poly(lactic acid) (SC-PLA) is superior to that of the homochiral poly(lactic acid) (HC-PLA). As a result of the high thermal stability, the optical resonator properties of the SC-PLA microspheres are preserved at an elevated temperature of up to 230 °C, which is 70 °C higher than that of microspheres formed from HC-PLA.