Preparation and characterization of microbial biodegradable poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐ co ‐4‐hydroxybutyrate)/organoclay nanocomposites

Abstract Novel biodegradable poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐ co ‐4‐hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB‐ co ‐4HB)]/organoclay nanocomposites were prepared via solution casting. Exfoliated nanocomposite structure was confirmed by wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for the nanocomposites with low organoclay loadings (≤3 wt%), whereas the mixtures of exfoliated and unexfoliated organoclays were appeared in the nanocomposite with an organoclay content of 5 wt%. The organoclay fillers accelerated significantly the cold crystallization process of P(3HB‐ co ‐4HB) matrix. The thermal stability of the nanocomposites was in general better than that of pristine P(3HB‐ co ‐4HB). Considerable increase in tensile modulus was observed for the nanocomposites, especially at an organoclay content of 3 wt%. These results demonstrated that the nanocomposites improved the material properties of P(3HB‐ co ‐4HB). POLYM. COMPOS., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers