Issue 16, 2016

Oxidative degradation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate). A new method of synthesis for the malic acid copolymers

Abstract

The thermal stability of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) in an oxidation environment was investigated in bulk at temperatures ranging from 100 °C to 140 °C. The process carried out in pure oxygen resulted in PHB backbone degradation with resulting non-volatile products typical for regular PHB thermal degradation while thermal treatment of PHB in an oxygen/ozone mixture resulted in increased rate of polymer backbone scission. The non-volatile degradation product contained macromolecules with several types of terminal groups but also a part of the 3-hydroxybutyrate repeating units was transformed into 3-malic acid units. NMR and multi-stage MS characterization revealed the random distribution of 3-malic acid units in the oligomeric products as well as the content of the malic acid units being dependent on oxidation conditions.

Graphical abstract: Oxidative degradation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate). A new method of synthesis for the malic acid copolymers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
17 Dec 2015
Accepted
20 Jan 2016
First published
25 Jan 2016

RSC Adv., 2016,6, 12809-12818

Oxidative degradation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate). A new method of synthesis for the malic acid copolymers

M. Michalak, M. Kwiecień, M. Kawalec and P. Kurcok, RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 12809 DOI: 10.1039/C5RA27041C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements