Poly(ʟ-lactide) (PLLA) films, even of high thickness, exhibiting co-crystalline and crystalline α phases with their chain axes preferentially perpendicular to the film plane (c⊥ orientation) have been obtained. This c⊥ orientation, unprecedented for PLLA films, can be achieved by the crystallization of amorphous films as induced by low-temperature sorption of molecules being suitable as guests of PLLA co-crystalline forms, such as N,N-dimethylformamide, cyclopentanone or 1,3-dioxolane. This kind of orientation is shown and quantified by two-dimensional wide-angle X-ray diffraction (2D-WAXD) patterns, as taken with the X-ray beam parallel to the film plane (EDGE patterns), which present all the hk0 arcs centered on the meridian. PLLA α-form films, as obtained by low-temperature guest-induced crystallization, also exhibit high transparency, being not far from those of the starting amorphous films.
Observation of Structure of Surfaces and Interfaces by Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction: Atomic-Scale Imaging and Time-Resolved Measurements