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Polymers and Polymer Composites

INVESTIGATION INTO POLYHYDROXYBUTYRATE MORPHOLOGY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF VARYING SOLVENT TYPE

August 1, 2004 By: Sharma L; Nishida K; Kanaya T Research article

Title: INVESTIGATION INTO POLYHYDROXYBUTYRATE MORPHOLOGY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF VARYING SOLVENT TYPE
Page Range: p.699-703
Author(s): Sharma L; Nishida K; Kanaya T
File size: 170K
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Journal: Polymers and Polymer Composites
Issue Year: ppc
Volume: 12
Issue No: No. 8

Abstract
Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a bacterially synthesised biodegradable semi-crystalline which undergoes underpinning of spherulites during secondary crystallisation, causing severe cracking and rendering the material brittle. Brittleness can be reduced by the use of a plasticiser, and to this end, this paper investigates the influence of the solvent, (chloroform, acetone, and toluene) as a plasticiser, on PHB. PHB’s crystalline and amorphous FTIR bands in the 950-1850 cm-1 region were studied. No band change was identified between the different solvent systems, indicating that the solvent was not an influencing factor in the formation of crystalline and amorphous regions in PHB. Hot stage optical microscopy was also used to further substantiate the FTIR studies. However, a marked change between the solvents and pure PHB became evident. The growth rate decreased for all solvents compared to the homopolymer, which is reported to indicate a non-plasticising effect. 19 refs.

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