Melt Compounded Blends of Short and Medium Chain-Length Poly-3-hydroxyalkanoates |
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Authors: | Manoj Nerkar Juliana A Ramsay Bruce A Ramsay Marianna Kontopoulou |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Queen’s University, Dupuis Hall, 19 Division St., Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada 2. Polyferm Canada Inc., 4530 CamdenE-Portland Bdry Rd., RR1, Harrowsmith, ON, K0H 1V0, Canada
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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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