Biodegradable polymer thermal properties

Xie F, Yu L, Liu H, Dean K (2006) Effect of compatibilizer distribution on thermal and rheological properties of gelatinized starch/biodegradable polyesters blends. Int Polym Proc 21 379-385 Xie F, Halley PJ, Averous L (2011a) Bio-nanocomposites based on starch. In Mittal V (ed) Nanocomposites with biodegradable polymers synthesis, properties and future perspectives. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 234-260... 

H. Tsuji, Y. Kawashima, H. Takikawa, S. Tanaka, Poly(L-lactide)/nano-structured carbon composites Conductivity, thermal properties, crystallization, and biodegradation., Polymer, vol. 48, pp. 4213-4225, 2007. 

Li XH, Meng YZ, Chen GQ, Li RKY (2004) Thermal properties and rheological behavior of biodegradable aliphatic polycarbonate derived from carbon dioxide and propylene oxide. J Appl Polym Sci 94 711-716... 

Aliphatic polyesters are the most economically competitive of the biodegradable polymers moreover, synthetic polyesters are expected to be degraded nonspecifi-cally by lipases. Although these polyesters are biodegradable, they often lack good thermal and mechanical properties. On the other hand, aromatic polyesters - such as... 

Biodegradable polymers Effect of thermal treatment on the physicomechanical and dissolution properties of compacts... 

Development of synthetic biodegradable polymers such as polybutylene succinates (PBS) with improved stiffness and thermal properties. 

The most relevant achievements in this sector are related to thermoplastic starch polymers resulting from the processing of native starch by chemical, thermal and mechanical means, and to its complexation to other co-polymers. The resulting materials show properties ranging from the flexibility of polyethylene to the rigidity of polystyrene, and can be soluble or insoluble in water as well as insensitive to humidity. Such properties explain the leading position of starch-based materials in the biodegradable polymer field. 

Among others, chain flexibility/rigidity, crystallinity, hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, molecular weight, chemical property, biodegradability, thermal property, mechanical property, and electrochemical property of polymers are considered to affect the performance of membranes most strongly. Moreover, these properties are often mutually interrelated. 

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), a well-known water-soluble and biodegradable polymer, has been used as an initiator for the microwave-assisted bulk ROP of s-caprolactone in a domestic microwave oven. The graft procedure proved to be an excellent method for functionalizing presynthesized polymers in order to specifically tailor their properties. In contrast to PVA, poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) is hydro-phobic and degrades very slowly. The combination of the two polymers proves to be an attractive way to control biodegradability of the final material. In addition, the resultant poly(vinyl alcohol)-gra/f-poly(e-caprolactone) (PVA-g-PCL) had improved mechanical and thermal properties compared to the parent PVA. 

Aliphatic polyesters (such as PLA, polyglycolic acid and their copolymers) are the most important class of biocompatible polymers used in biomedical applications. This class of polymers has shown superior properties over conventional polymers, such as excellent biocompatibility, biodegradation, and thermal, physical and mechanical properties, which make them suitable for applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering [19-21]. 

Senda, T., He, Y. and Inoue, Y. (2002) Biodegradable blends of poly(E-caprolactone) with o-chitin and chitosan specific interactions, thermal properties and crystallisation behaviour. Polymer International, 51,33-39. 

---