M. Auriemma, Amodio Piscitelli, R. Pasquino
Dec 17, 2015
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Abstract
Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is a biodegradable polymer, whose applicability is limited by its relatively poor mechanical properties and narrow processing window. In this paper, different natural phenol-based additives, including tannic acid (TA), grape bagasse extract (EP), and a lignocellulosic biomass (LC) were used as thermal and processing stabilizers for PHB. The thermal stability of both neat and doped PHB samples was studied by rheology and calorimetry. The experimental results showed that neat PHB massively degrades and that the addition of phenol additives enhances the thermal stability of PHB, preserving the polymer molecular weight after processing. This finding was in agreement with the slower decay in viscosity observed through rheological tests. Physical and chemical interactions between polymer and additive were considered as key factors to interpret the experimental data. LC affected the melt crystallization kinetics of PHB enhancing crystallization upon cooling. This finding suggests th...