TY - JOUR
T1 - Properties and Soil Degradation Characteristics of Chitin-Reinforced Poly(butylene succinate)/Hydroxyapatite Composites
AU - Motloung, Mpho Phillip
AU - Mofokeng, Tladi Gideon
AU - Bandyopadhyay, Jayita
AU - Ray, Suprakas Sinha
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.
PY - 2024/8
Y1 - 2024/8
N2 - Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) is a biodegradable polymer; however, a prolonged soil degradation rate of PBS limits its wide range of applications. Here, the impact of incorporating chitin in mechanical and thermal properties and soil degradation characteristics of PBS/hydroxyapatite (HAP) composites is investigated. Chitin is one of the most abundant natural polymers extensively used for various applications and has a fast soil degradation characteristic. Therefore, ternary PBS composites are melt-processed in a twin-screw extruder with a fixed amount of HAP (1.5 wt%) and two different loadings of chitin (1.5 and 3 wt%). Morphological characterization using transmission electron microscopy shows a homogeneous distribution of both fillers in a PBS composite containing 1.5 wt% chitin. In contrast, an optical microscopy study of the same composite at the melt state shows defibrillation and breakage of the chitin fibers during the extrusion. Incorporation of chitin decreases the elongation at break of the PBS/HAP composite, which is likely a consequence of chitin fiber morphology. However, the soil degradation characteristics and melt strength of PBS/HAP composites are improved in the presence of chitin fibers. In summary, chitin is shown to have the potential as an additive to obtain environmentally benign PBS composites for a wide range of applications.
AB - Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) is a biodegradable polymer; however, a prolonged soil degradation rate of PBS limits its wide range of applications. Here, the impact of incorporating chitin in mechanical and thermal properties and soil degradation characteristics of PBS/hydroxyapatite (HAP) composites is investigated. Chitin is one of the most abundant natural polymers extensively used for various applications and has a fast soil degradation characteristic. Therefore, ternary PBS composites are melt-processed in a twin-screw extruder with a fixed amount of HAP (1.5 wt%) and two different loadings of chitin (1.5 and 3 wt%). Morphological characterization using transmission electron microscopy shows a homogeneous distribution of both fillers in a PBS composite containing 1.5 wt% chitin. In contrast, an optical microscopy study of the same composite at the melt state shows defibrillation and breakage of the chitin fibers during the extrusion. Incorporation of chitin decreases the elongation at break of the PBS/HAP composite, which is likely a consequence of chitin fiber morphology. However, the soil degradation characteristics and melt strength of PBS/HAP composites are improved in the presence of chitin fibers. In summary, chitin is shown to have the potential as an additive to obtain environmentally benign PBS composites for a wide range of applications.
KW - chitin
KW - crystallinity
KW - morphology
KW - polybutylene succinate
KW - soil degradation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85174230614&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/mame.202300293
DO - 10.1002/mame.202300293
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85174230614
SN - 1438-7492
VL - 309
JO - Macromolecular Materials and Engineering
JF - Macromolecular Materials and Engineering
IS - 8
M1 - 2300293
ER -