Fabrication of bio-based biodegradable poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) composite foams for highly efficient oil-water separation

Abstract

The open-cell bio-based biodegradable polymer foams show good application prospect in dealing with the serious environmental issue caused by oil spill and organic solvents spills, while the cell structures and hydrophobic properties of the foams limit their performance. In this work, the poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) was selected to help prepare bio-based biodegradable poly(lactic acid) (PLA) foams. Based on a two-step foaming method, the crystallization ability of different samples was regulated by the “original crystals” together with PHBV in the foaming process, where skeleton structures were provided to facilitate the open-cell structures and promote their mechanical property. As illustrated, PHBV facilitated the formation of open-cell PLA foams, where the foams displayed superior oil-water separation capacity. The maximum volume expansion ratio of the foams was 80.08, the contact angle of deionized water reached to 134.5°, the adsorption capacity for oil or organic solvents was 10.8 g/g-51.8 g/g, and the adsorption capacity for CCl4 can still maintained 83.5 % of the initial value after 10 adsorption-desorption cycles. This work not only clarified the foaming mechanism of open-cell foams, but also provided a green and simple method for preparing bio-based biodegradable foams possessing excellent oil-water separation performance.