Abstract: Activation sepiolite (ADI-S) was introduced into poly(lactic acid) (PLA) as a nucleating agent. The influence of annealing on the crystallization and thermal behaviors of PLA was studied by differential scanning calorimetry, wideangle X-ray diffraction, polarized optical microscope, and Vicat softening point tester. It showed that the nucleating agent increased the degree of crystallization and heat resistance in short annealing time. The crystallinity of PLA/ADI-S was 53.3 % and Vicat softening temperature was 83.3 ℃ while annealed at 90 ℃ for 10 minutes.

Key words: poly(lactic acid), annealing, crystal property, heat resistance property