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Melt Compounded Blends of Short and Medium Chain-Length Poly-3-hydroxyalkanoates

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Abstract

Blends of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate with an elastomeric medium-chain-length poly-3-hydroxyalkanoate (MCL-PHA), containing 98 mol% 3-hydroxyoctanoate and 2 mol% 3-hydroxyhexanoate (referred to as PHO), were prepared by melt compounding. Coarsening of the droplet-matrix morphology of the blends was noted as the PHO content increased beyond 5 wt%; this was attributed to the significant viscosity mismatch between the components. Addition of PHO improved the thermal stability of the blends, reduced their crystallinity and resulted in shifts in their melting and crystallization temperatures. The blends had improved tensile strain at break. The unnotched impact strength showed a threefold increase at 30 wt% PHO content. Cross-linking of PHO using a peroxide initiator increased its viscosity, thus improving the morphology and mechanical properties of the blends.

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Acknowledgments

Funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) and Xerox Research Center of Canada is greatly appreciated. The authors would like to thank Dr. Urs J. Hänggi of Biomer, Dr. R. Hufenus (EMPA Switzerland) and Dr. Dristi Khondkar for their technical help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Queen’s University, Dupuis Hall, 19 Division St., Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada

    Manoj Nerkar, Juliana A. Ramsay & Marianna Kontopoulou

  2. Polyferm Canada Inc., 4530 CamdenE-Portland Bdry Rd., RR1, Harrowsmith, ON, K0H 1V0, Canada

    Bruce A. Ramsay

Authors
  1. Manoj Nerkar
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  2. Juliana A. Ramsay
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  3. Bruce A. Ramsay
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  4. Marianna Kontopoulou
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Correspondence to Marianna Kontopoulou.

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Nerkar, M., Ramsay, J.A., Ramsay, B.A. et al. Melt Compounded Blends of Short and Medium Chain-Length Poly-3-hydroxyalkanoates. J Polym Environ 22, 236–243 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-013-0635-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-013-0635-6

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