Abstract
The transition to green chemistry and biodegradable polymers is a logical stage in the development of modern chemical science and technology. In the framework of this review, the advantages, disadvantages, and potential of biodegradable polymers of synthetic and natural origin are compared using the example of polylactide and chitosan as traditional representatives of these classes of polymers, and the possibilities of their combination via obtaining composite materials or copolymers are assessed. The mechanochemical approach to the synthesis of graft copolymers of chitosan with oligolactides/polylactides is considered in more detail.
Highlights
The modern chemical industry is aiming at a shift toward environmental management, green chemistry, and biodegradable or recyclable materials
Taking into account the inertness of large-scale production and, at the same time, the necessity to change equipment for more expensive at the first stage it seems rational to look for methods and approaches to regulate the service life of already used large-scale polymers and their efficient processing, but the future, most likely, belongs to biodegradable polymers
One of the most famous and promising polyesters is polylactide [poly(lactic acid)], and chitosan can be distinguished among polysaccharides
Summary
The modern chemical industry is aiming at a shift toward environmental management, green chemistry, and biodegradable or recyclable materials. A mechanochemical approach based on solid-state reactive blending of chitin with an alkali in a one-stage extrusion process makes it possible to produce chitosan with the degree of deacetylation ≥0.9 at a fivefold molar excess of sodium hydroxide which is significantly lower than that used in traditional suspension processes In this case, the duration of the synthesis is reduced from hours to several minutes which determines high economic and environmental indicators of such a process [35, 36]. The structure of chitosan macromolecules (the number of residual chitin units and their distribution along chain), like their molecular weight, can vary within wide limits; unlike polylactide, it is rather difficult to control, since it is the result not of targeted synthesis but of characteristics of the initial chitin and conditions for its isolation from natural raw materials and subsequent deacetylation [30]. Its derivatives or copolymers are synthesized using both hydroxyl and amine groups as reaction centers [36, 73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82]
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