Premium
Dependence of biodegradation and release behavior on physical properties of poly(caprolactone)‐based polyurethanes
Author(s) -
Watanabe Atsushi,
Takebayashi Yoshihiro,
Ohtsubo Toshiro,
Furukawa Mutsuhisa
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.30464
Subject(s) - biodegradation , caprolactone , polyurethane , diol , polyol , polymer chemistry , materials science , triol , polymer , membrane , glass transition , chemical engineering , polycaprolactone , chemistry , organic chemistry , composite material , copolymer , biochemistry , engineering
Simultaneous pursuit of long accurate release control and high biodegradation rate is required as the membrane of controlled‐release devices in agriculture. The effect of the physical properties of poly(caprolactone) based polyurethanes as a polymer membrane on their biodegradation characteristics and the release profile was evaluated. The soil burial test at 28°C resulted that the biodegradation rate of the polyurethanes increased as the number of average molecular weight ( M n ) of poly(caprolactone) diol used increased from 500 to 1000, whereas it decreased as the M n of poly(caprolactone) diol increased from 1200 to 2000. The biodegradation behavior was different when the M n of poly(caprolactone) diols was used because of the recrystallization of long straight poly(caprolactone) chains. Poly(caprolactone) triol prevented recrystallization and led the high degradation ratio. The release rate of urea from the polyurethane‐coated granules decreased as the M n of poly(caprolactone) polyol decreased. These results indicated that the release profile was affected by the urethane content, and the biodegradation characteristic was affected by the glass transition temperature and the recrystallization of polyurethane membrane. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009