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Experimental approaches to generate compositional gradients in the fully biodegradable polymer blend system based on poly(3‐hydroxybutyric acid)
Author(s) -
Ikejima Tetsuya,
Inoue Yoshio
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
macromolecular chemistry and physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1521-3935
pISSN - 1022-1352
DOI - 10.1002/1521-3935(20000901)201:14<1598::aid-macp1598>3.0.co;2-k
Subject(s) - vinyl alcohol , solvent , materials science , biodegradation , polymer blend , polymer , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , evaporation , phase (matter) , composite material , chemistry , organic chemistry , copolymer , physics , engineering , thermodynamics
The fully biodegradable polymer blend films with compositional gradients from the surface to the inside of the films were prepared by the solution‐diffuse technique. A solution of bacterial poly(3‐hydroxybutyric acid) (PHB) in hexafluoro‐2‐propanol (HFIP), which is also a good solvent for poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), was cast on a PVA film and the solvent HFIP was evaporated. By controlling the solvent evaporation rate, the PHB/PVA blend film with a compositional gradient was obtained. The phase structure and biodegradation profile of the PHB/PVA blend film were found to be different from those of the corresponding blend film prepared by the conventional solution‐cast method.