Study on Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) CopolymersBiodegradation

Abstract

In the study the biodegradability of some poly(vinyl alcohol)-g-aspartic acid copolymers was investigated, using Trichotecium roseum fungus. The biodegraded samples were examined after established days of inoculation (3–21 days). The modification of structure and surface morphology, caused by copolymers biodegradation was determined by atenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). By static light scattering analysis (SLS) was concluded that the weight average molecular weight (Mw) of poly(vinyl alcohol)- g-aspartic acid copolymers was major modified by biodegradation. The thermal characteristics of initial and biodegraded samples were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG-DTG) analyses.

Keywords

• Poly(vinyl alcohol)-g-aspartic acid copolymers
• Trichotecium roseum fungus
• biodegradation
• clear-zone diameter