Hydrolytic degradation of poly[( R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid] in the melt

Abstract

Poly[( R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid] [ R-P(3HB)] was hydrolyzed in high-temperature and high-pressure water at the temperature range of 180–300 °C and for a period of 360 min. The formation, racemization, and decomposition of 3-hydroxybutyric acids (3HBs) and molecular weight change of R-P(3HB) were investigated. The highest yield of ( R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid ( R-3HB), ca. 80%, was obtained at 200 °C in the hydrolytic degradation periods of 240–360 min. Too-high hydrolytic degradation temperature such as 300 °C induced the decomposition and racemization of formed 3HBs, resulting in decreased yield of R-3HB. The hydrolytic degradation of R-P(3HB) proceeds homogeneously and randomly via a bulk erosion mechanism. The molecular weight of R-P(3HB) decreased exponentially without formation of low-molecular-weight specific peaks originating from crystalline residues. The hydrolytic degradation rates in the melt estimated from M n changes were lower for R-P(3HB) than for poly( l-lactide) (PLLA) in the temperature range of 180–220 °C. The activation energy for the hydrolytic degradation (Δ E h) of R-P(3HB) in the melt (180–250 °C) was 30.0 kcal mol −1, which is higher than 12.2 kcal mol −1 for PLLA in the melt in the temperature range (180–250 °C). This study reveals that hydrolytic degradation of PHB in the melt is an effective and simple method to obtain ( R)-3HB and to prepare R-P(3HB) having different molecular weights without containing the specific low-molecular-weight chains, because of the removal of the effect caused by crystalline residues.