Hello.
I'm trying to make Polycaprolactone(PCL) film by solvent casting method.
I am dissolving PCL into Chloroform or Dichloromethane.
but, only by this, film is too crystallized ( I can see crystals when it dries) and not even.
I want to make even and thin film.
Can i solve this problem by adding some plasticizer? like oleic acid or glycerol?
It is very easy in the case of PCL after film casting just heat the glass plate to 60-70C. The cool it immediately in an ice bath, you will get t film without crystals. I advise you that store the film below 20C after this thermal treatment.
How homogenous does your film need to be?
I've achieved quite homogenous films by casting PCL solved in Chloroform (10 wt% solution) into petri-disches and putting the cover off the dishes on top of them. The covers slow the evaporation down so you will gain a higher homogeneity in comparison to films cast without any cover.
The downside is that you will get a thickness gradient from the middle of the dishes (thinner) to the edge of the dishes (thicker), but with thin films this is in the range of a bunch of microns.
you can achieved homogeneous films with less crystallized by dissolving PCL in acetic acid then cast the solution. after that cooled and then held at -10℃ for 12 h. Finally used the freeze-dried method.
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