Nanoscience and Technology Program, Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand.
Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand.
Sci Rep. 2022 Dec 31;12(1):22633. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-27246-z.
This research aims to enhance the mechanical characteristics of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) by using epoxidized natural rubber (ENR-25 and ENR-50) as a toughening agent and polybutadiene (PB) grafted with maleic anhydride (MA) (3 MA groups/chain) as a compatibilizer. The PHBV/ENR blends were mixed in 100/0, 90/10, 80/20, and 70/30 with PB-g-MA at 0, 5, and 10% (wt./wt.), using an internal mixer set to 175 °C with a rotor speed of 50 rpm. The findings indicated that at 70/30 PHBV/ENR composition, the impact strength of the blends with 25 and 50 epoxide contents were the greatest at 6.92 ± 0.35 J m and 7.33 ± 1.19 J m, respectively, which are about two times greater than that of neat PHBV. Furthermore, the biodegradability of the PHBV/ENR blends was more substantial than that of neat PHBV, showing a mass reduction of approximately 40% and 45% for PHBV/ENR-25 and PHBV/ENR-50, respectively. In comparison, while the mass loss of PHBV was approximately 37% after three months of soil burial. The results indicate that ENR improves the toughness of the blends while simultaneously increasing PHBV degradation, which could pave the way for broadening PHBV for sustainability purposes.
本研究旨在通过使用环氧化天然橡胶（ENR-25 和 ENR-50）作为增韧剂和马来酸酐接枝聚丁二烯（MA）（每链 3 MA 基团）作为相容剂来提高聚（3-羟基丁酸-co-3-羟基戊酸）（PHBV）的机械性能。将 PHBV/ENR 共混物以 100/0、90/10、80/20 和 70/30 的比例与 PB-g-MA 在 0、5 和 10%（wt./wt.）混合，使用内部混合机在 175°C 下以 50 rpm 的转子速度进行混合。结果表明，在 70/30 PHBV/ENR 组成下，含有 25 和 50 环氧含量的共混物的冲击强度最大，分别为 6.92±0.35 J m 和 7.33±1.19 J m，分别是纯 PHBV 的两倍多。此外，与纯 PHBV 相比，PHBV/ENR 共混物的生物降解性更大，PHBV/ENR-25 和 PHBV/ENR-50 的质量损失分别约为 40%和 45%。相比之下，在三个月的土壤掩埋后，PHBV 的质量损失约为 37%。结果表明，ENR 提高了共混物的韧性，同时增加了 PHBV 的降解，这为拓宽 PHBV 的可持续性应用铺平了道路。
