Comprehensive Biodegradation Analysis of Chemically Modified Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Materials with Different Crystal Structures.

This work presents a comprehensive analysis of the biodegradation of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and chemically modified PHB with different chemical and crystal structures in a soil environment. A polymer modification reaction was performed during preparation of the chemically modified PHB films, utilizing 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-di(-butylperoxy)-hexane as a free-radical initiator and maleic anhydride. Films of neat PHB and chemically modified PHB were prepared by extrusion and thermocompression.