Studies on Non-Isothermal Crystallisation and Viscoelastic Properties of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) and Epoxidized Natural Rubber Blends

• Published in: Macromolecular Symposia
• Main Author: Akram F.M.M.; Chan C.H.; Salim Y.S.; Gan S.N.; Kumar K.S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley-VCH Verlag 2017
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85013328469&doi=10.1002%2fmasy.201600049&partnerID=40&md5=5613e166faa243b231945169eff4aa4b

Study on non-isothermal crystallisation and viscoelastic properties were done on the blends of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate [P(3HB-co-3HHx)] with 21 mol% of poly(3-hydroxyhexanoate) (3HHx) and epoxidized natural rubber with 25 mol% of epoxy content (ENR-25). Non-isothermal crystallisation, carried out with different cooling rates held constant, is discussed in terms of a quasi-isothermal approach. The crystallisation temperature of P(3HB-co-3HHx) in the blends decreases with increasing cooling rate from 20 to 1 °C/min. Besides that, at one selected cooling rate, the crystallisation temperature of P(3HB-co-3HHx) decreases as ENR-25 content increases in the blends. The addition of ENR-25 at constant cooling rate increases the average rate constant. In DMA study, the storage modulus (É) decreases as ENR-25 content increases due to ENR-25 elastic nature. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim