Although thedegradationofpolylactidehasbeenrelativelywellunderstood,thereisstillalackof
reliable dataonthebehaviorofitscompositesatspecific temperatures.Thispaperstudiesthehydrolytic
degradability ofpolylactide/notactivatedsmectiteclaynanocompositesinthe6weeksaccelerated
degradation at80 1C whichhasnotbeenwidelydocumentedsofar.Thecompositeswith3wt%,5wt%
and 10wt%ofsmectite filler contentobtainedbyinjectionmoldingwereinvestigatedandcomparedto
the neatpolylactidematrixmaterial.Theresultsofdegradationat80 1C werereferredtothehydrolytic
degradation at25 1C and37 1C. Macroscopicchangesinthenanocomposites,theirmolecularweightand
pH ofmediumwasmonitoredduringthedegradationtime.Theinfluence ofclayadditiononthe
crystallization, glasstransitionandthemeltingtemperaturewasalsostudiedbydifferentialscanning
calorimetry (DSC).TheDSCresultsshowthatthepresenceofsmectiteclayresultsinashiftoftheonset
peak forthemeltingtemperaturestowardshighervalueswhilefortheglasstransitiontowardsthe
lowerones.Asignificant differenceindegradationratebetweenthepolylactidematrixandthe
polylactide/claynanocompositeswasalsonoted.Theshorteneddegradationtimeofthenanocomposites
increases theirpotentialforuseinbiomedicalapplications,butalsoindisposablethermoplasticproducts
which areincreasinglyused.