{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.03657522859517872, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0, 'mean_word_length': 5.08080808080808, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Effects of stereo-regularity on the single-chain mechanics of polylactic acid and its implications on the physical properties of bulk materials.

The material properties of polylactic acid (PLA) are largely determined by its stereo-regularity (tacticity). To find out the origin at the molecular level, the single-chain mechanics of poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) and poly-d,l-lactide (PDLLA) were comparatively investigated by single-molecule atomic force microscopy (AFM). At a low concentration, PLLA adopted a random-coil conformation in a good solvent. At a high concentration, however, the PLLA chain can be induced into a helix, which consumed additional energy during unfolding by further stretching. Due to the random arrangement of l- and d-repeating units in the PDLLA chain, PDLLA adopts a random-coil conformation at all concentrations. The difference in single-chain mechanics of PLLA and PDLLA at high concentrations may be the cause of their different macroscopic properties. This is the first report to reveal the stereo-regularity-dependent mechanics of a polymer at the single-molecule level, which may help to bridge the gap between understanding single-molecule and materials properties.