Maleation of Biodegradable Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate--3-hydroxyvalerate) by Reactive Extrusion: Effect of Initiator Concentration and a Chain Extender on Grafting Percentage and Thermal and Rheological Properties.

Recently, there has been immense interest in using biodegradable polymers to replace petro-derived polymers. Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate--3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), which is gaining popularity due to its biodegradability, is used in developing blends and composites for a variety of applications. To enhance the miscibility between different components of a material with PHBV, functionalization of the PHBV chain can be done.

Upcycling of post-industrial starch-based thermoplastics and their talc-filled sustainable biocomposites for single-use plastic alternative.

This study utilized post-industrial wheat starch (biological macromolecule) for the development of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) based thermoplastic starch blend (TPS) and biocomposite films. PBAT (70 wt%) was blended with plasticized post-industrial wheat starch (PPWS) (30 wt%) and reinforced with talc master batch (MB) (25 wt%) using a two-step process, consisting of compounding the blend for pellet preparation, followed by the cast film extrusion at 160 °C. The effect of the chain extender was analyzed at compounding temperatures of 160 and 180 °C for talc-based composites.

Morphology and Performance Relationship Studies on Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate--3-hydroxyvalerate)/Poly(butylene adipate--terephthalate)-Based Biodegradable Blends.

Biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate--3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV)/poly(butylene adipate--terephthalate) (PBAT) blends hold great potential for use in sustainable packaging applications for their advanced performance. Understanding the structure-property relationship in the blends at various proportions is significantly important for their future application, which is addressed in this work. The study found that the inherent brittleness of PHBV can only be modified with the addition of 50 wt % PBAT, where co-continuous structures formed in the blend as revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis.

Silane treated starch dispersed PBAT/PHBV-based composites: Improved barrier performance for single-use plastic alternatives.

The objective of this study is to include 5 wt% silane-treated starch (S-t-Starch) into biodegradable flexible poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT)/poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) blend matrix, which can facilitate superior barrier and balanced mechanical properties. With the intension of improving compatibilization between matrix and filler, starch (biological macromolecule) was efficiently treated with 15 wt% of 3-glycidoxypropyl trimethoxy silane (GPTMS), a coupling agent. Various analyses such as barrier, mechanical, thermal, surface morphology and rheological were performed using cast extruded PBAT/PHBV-based composite films.

Additive manufacturing technology of polymeric materials for customized products: recent developments and future prospective.

The worldwide demand for additive manufacturing (AM) is increasing due to its ability to produce more challenging customized objects based on the process parameters for engineering applications. The processing of conventional materials by AM processes is a critically demanded research stream, which has generated a path-breaking scenario in the rapid manufacturing and upcycling of plastics. The exponential growth of AM in the worldwide polymer market is expected to exceed 20 billion US dollars by 2021 in areas of automotive, medical, aerospace, energy and customized consumer products.

Green Composites from a Bioplastic Blend of Poly(3-hyroxybutyrate--3-hydroxyvalerate) and Carbon Dioxide-Derived Poly(propylene carbonate) and Filled with a Corn Ethanol-Industry Co-product.

Sustainable green composites were engineered from distillers' dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a co-product from the corn ethanol industry as a sustainable filler in bioplastic matrices made from a carbon dioxide-derived poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) and poly(3-hyroxybutyrate--3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) blend. The effect of water-washed DDGS (15 and 25 wt %) on the properties of injection-molded green composites from PHBV/PPC blends (60/40) and (40/60) and DDGS without and with peroxide (0.5 phr) has been investigated.

Effect of Dicumyl Peroxide on a Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS)/Functionalized Chitosan-Based Nanobiocomposite for Packaging: A Reactive Extrusion Study.

Nanobiocomposites with balanced mechanical characteristics are fabricated from poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly(butylene succinate) (PBS)blend at a weight ratio of 80/20 in association with varying concentrations of functionalized chitosan (CH) through reactive extrusion at a temperature of 185 °C. The combined effect of CH and dicumyl peroxide (DCP) showed insignificant change in tensile strength with a remarkable increase in % elongation at break (∼45%) values. Addition of DCP also caused increase in the molecular weight ( ∼ 22%) of the PLA/PBS/1DCH nanobiocomposite, which is attributed to the cross-linking/branching effect of CH on the polymers.

Effects of Amphiphilic Chitosan on Stereocomplexation and Properties of Poly(lactic acid) Nano-biocomposite.

This article demonstrates an elegant approach for the fabrication of high heat-stable PLA using an industrially viable technique i.e. melt extrusion, which is quite challenging due to the higher viscosity of poly(lactic acid) melt.

Theoretical and analyzed data related to thermal degradation kinetics of poly (L-lactic acid)/chitosan--oligo L-lactic acid (PLA/CH--OLLA) bionanocomposite films.

The theoretical and analyzed data incorporated in this article are related to the recently published research article entitled "Thermal degradation behaviour of nanoamphiphilic chitosan dispersed poly (lactic acid) bionanocomposite films" (http://dx.doi.org/10.

Thermal degradation behaviour of nanoamphiphilic chitosan dispersed poly (lactic acid) bionanocomposite films.

In the present study, nano-amphiphilic chitosan termed as chitosan-grafted-oligo l-lactic acid (CH-g-OLLA), is synthesized by microwave initiated insitu condensation polymerization. The synthesized CH-g-OLLA becomes hydrophobic in nature due to chemical bond formation between chitosan backbone and OLLA chains. Further, CH-g-OLLA (30%) bionanocomposite is used as a nanofiller in poly (lactic acid)/chitosan-grafted-oligo l-lactic acid (PLA/CH-g-OLLA) bionanocomposite films.

Nanoamphiphilic Chitosan Dispersed Poly(lactic acid) Bionanocomposite Films with Improved Thermal, Mechanical, and Gas Barrier Properties.

This article demonstrates the synthesis of lactic acid oligomer-grafted-chitosan (OLLA-g-CH), a nanoamphiphilic molecule, by in situ condensation polymerization and its effective use as a nanofiller for improvement in multiple properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) films, essential for stringent food packaging applications. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis shows the presence of amide-ester bond at 1539 cm(-1), which confirms the structural grafting of OLLA chains with chitosan molecules. This nanoamphiphilic OLLA-g-CH molecule act as surfactant containing hydrophilic chitosan head and hydrophobic OLLA tails with average size in the range of ∼2-4 nm.