Thermal depolymerization mechanisms of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)

• Main Authors: Hengxue Xiang, Xiaoshuang Wen, Xiaohui Miu, Yan Li, Zhe Zhou, Meifang Zhu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2016-02-01
• Series: Progress in Natural Science: Materials International
• Subjects: Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV); Thermal depolymerization; Thermal degradation; Biopolymer; Polyhydroxyalkanoates(PHAs)
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1002007116000204

Thermal degradation processes and decomposition mechanisms of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) were investigated by using thermal gravity analysis(TGA), Gel permeation chromatography (GPC), elemental analyzer, pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (PyGC-MS) and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR). The degradation activation energy was calculated via the dependence of residual mass on isothermal temperature. 1H NMR and PyGC-MS were used to investigate the chemical structure and component proportion of volatile gases and degradation residues which were produced by thermal decomposition, and to infer the process of macromolecular chain scission. Besides, the influence of the factors, such as outfield atmosphere, residual metal ions, on the degradation behaviors of PHBV was also studied. Finally, the PHBV thermal decomposition mechanisms were speculated on the basis of the degradation behaviors of molecular and chemical structure.