Abstract
In the last decade, there has been an increased interest from the food packaging industry toward the development and application of biodegradable and biobased plastics, to contribute to the sustainable economy and to reduce the huge environmental problem afflicting the planet. In this framework, the present paper describes the synthesis of novel PBS (poly(butylene succinate))-based random copolymers with different composition containing glycol sub-units characterized by alkyl pendant groups of different length. The prepared samples were subjected to molecular, thermal, diffractometric and mechanical characterization. The barrier performances to O2, CO2 and N2 gases were also evaluated, envisioning for these new materials an application in food packaging. The presence of the side alkyl groups did not alter the thermal stability, whereas it significantly reduced the sample crystallinity degree, making these materials more flexible. The barrier properties were found to be worse than PBS; however, some of them were comparable to, or even better than, those of Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), widely employed for flexible food packaging. The entity of variations in the final properties due to copolymerization were more modest in the case of the co-unit with short side methyl groups, which, when included in the PBS crystal lattice, causes a more modest decrement of crystallinity degree.
Highlights
Petroleum-based plastics are used in everyday life, due to their low price, lightness, ease of production, ease of processability, modulation of properties and durability
Food packaging sector, which is the largest segment of application for plastics, is the one that contributes most to the production of plastic waste, the recovery and recycling of the end-of-life materials being very problematic, due to the contamination of package with food [3]
A valid ecofriendly solution to this urgent need is represented by biodegradable plastics, which can be safely disposed in the environment, being able to degrade through the enzymatic actions of microorganisms
Summary
Petroleum-based plastics are used in everyday life (their applications range in several different fields, such as packaging, building, automotive, electronics, agriculture, medicine, etc.), due to their low price, lightness, ease of production, ease of processability, modulation of properties and durability.This last characteristic, has caused over the years both huge terrestrial and marine pollution problems, due to accumulation of large quantities of plastic wastes in landfills or marine habitat.traditional fossil-based plastics, such as polyolefins, to cite one example, degrade very slowly, with consequent permanence for hundreds or even thousands of years in the environment [1,2].Polymers 2017, 9, 724; doi:10.3390/polym9120724 www.mdpi.com/journal/polymersFood packaging sector, which is the largest segment of application for plastics, is the one that contributes most to the production of plastic waste, the recovery and recycling of the end-of-life materials being very problematic, due to the contamination of package with food [3].Nowadays, people as well as governments are more aware of the harmful effects of petrochemical derived plastic materials in the environment. Petroleum-based plastics are used in everyday life (their applications range in several different fields, such as packaging, building, automotive, electronics, agriculture, medicine, etc.), due to their low price, lightness, ease of production, ease of processability, modulation of properties and durability. This last characteristic, has caused over the years both huge terrestrial and marine pollution problems, due to accumulation of large quantities of plastic wastes in landfills or marine habitat. Traditional fossil-based plastics, such as polyolefins, to cite one example, degrade very slowly, with consequent permanence for hundreds or even thousands of years in the environment [1,2]. The degradation of biodegradable plastics gives rise to carbon dioxide, methane, water, biomass, humic matter and various other natural substances, which can be readily eliminated
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