ABSTRACT
This work is designed to be an informative source for biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and its derivatives’ research. We focus on hydrolytic degradation kinetics at 37 and 70oC in phosphate buffer to compare PLA and PHB kinetic profiles. Besides, we reveal the kinetic behavior for copolymer PHBV (20% of 3-hydroxyvalerate) and the blend PHBPLA. The intensity of biopolymer hydrolysis characterized by total weight lost and the viscosity-averaged molecular weight (MW) decrement. The degradation is enhanced in the series PHBV<PHB<PHB-PLA blend PLA. Characterization of PHB and PHBV includes MW and crystallinity evolution (X-ray diffraction) and AFM analysis of PHB film surfaces before and after aggressive medium exposition. The important impact of MW on the biopolymer hydrolysis is shown.
