Cereal Products and Food Science Research Site Logo
ARS Home About Us Helptop nav spacerContact Us En Espanoltop nav spacer
Printable VersionPrintable Version     E-mail this pageE-mail this page
Agricultural Research Service United States Department of Agriculture
Search
  Advanced Search
Programs and Projects
 

Research Project: Improved Isolation, Modification, and Functionality of Grain Proteins for New Product Development

Location: Cereal Products and Food Science Research

Title: Polycaprolactone/polystyrene Bioblends Characterized by Thermogravimetry, Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Infrared Photoacoustic Spectroscopy

Authors

Submitted to: Polymer Degradation and Stability
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: April 19, 2007
Publication Date: July 1, 2007
Citation: Mohamed, A., Gordon, S.H., Biresaw, G. 2007. Polycaprolactone/polystyrene bioblends characterized by thermogravimetry, modulated differential scanning calorimetry and infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy. Polymer Degradation and Stability. 92:1177-1185.

Interpretive Summary: Polymer bioblends are blends of polymers that contain at least one natural biodegradable polymer mixed with other synthetic polymers. Biodegradable polymer bioblends are of interest in the development of a variety of products for use in packaging materials, medical devices, drug delivery systems, etc. Preparation of useful polymer bioblends is possible only when the biodegradable polymers are compatible with the synthetic polymers. Compatibility can be determined by measuring the degree of intermolecular interactions between the polymers in the bioblend. In this work, the degree of interaction in polymer bioblends containing natural biodegradable polycaprolactone and synthetic polystyrene was investigated using thermogravimetric analysis, modulated differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy. The thermogravimetric and calorimetric studies indicated that blending polycaprolactone with polystyrene results in bioblends that showed evidence of compatibility in some blends while others showed partial incompatibility. However, the infrared studies revealed the presence of weak intermolecular interactions between polycaprolactone and polystyrene polymers in the bioblends. Therefore, development of useful bioblends from these polymers is possible.

Technical Abstract: Polymer blends comprising at least one biodegradable polymer with other polymers are referred to as bioblends. Successful development of bioblends requires that the biodegradable polymers be compatible with other component polymers. One way of assessing compatibility is through the evaluation of the degree of intermolecular interactions between the component polymers. In this work, the degree of interaction in binary bioblends comprising biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) and polystyrene (PS) was investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) and Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy (FTIR-PAS). The TGA studies indicated that incorporation of PCL in PS results in thermal destabilization of PCL/PS bioblends. The MDSC studies showed that some parameters favored partial miscibility of PS in PCL, while others favored immiscibility. The FTIR-PAS spectra suggested the presence of intermolecular n-pi interactions between PCL and PS and supported the results of TGA and MDSC analyses of PCL/PS bioblends.

   

 
Project Team
Mohamed, Abdellatif
Xu, Jingyuan - James
Gordon, Sherald
Liu, Sean
Kim, Sanghoon
 
Publications
   Publications
 
Related National Programs
  Quality and Utilization of Agricultural Products (306)
 
 
Last Modified: 02/09/2009
ARS Home | USDA.gov | Site Map | Policies and Links 
FOIA | Accessibility Statement | Privacy Policy | Nondiscrimination Statement | Information Quality | USA.gov | White House