Self-reinforced monomaterial polyhydroxyalkanoates for sustainable packaging and piezoelectric applications
Pejman Heidarian, Shazed Aziz, Peter J. Halley, Tony McNally, Ton Peijs, Luigi‐Jules Vandi, Fatemeh Mokhtari, Russell J. Varley
Abstract
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are environmentally friendly and biodegradable alternatives to petroleum-based plastics derived from bacteria, that decompose under ambient conditions. However, commonly used short chain length (SCL) PHAs, in particular, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate- co -3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), tend to be rigid and brittle inhibiting their wider usage. To address this, self-reinforced PHA monomaterial films, varying only by the comonomers in their backbone structure, were prepared using both electrospinning and electrospraying techniques. PHBV, a SCL-PHA, was electrospun as the highly crystalline fiber phase, while poly(3-hydroxybutyrate- co -3-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBH), a medium-chain-length (MCL) PHA, was electrosprayed as the flexible low crystalline matrix phase. The resulting self-reinforced PHA monomaterial films were annealed below the melting point of PHBV to improve fiber matrix adhesion and increase mechanical properties. These self-reinforced PHA monomaterial films were then characterized to assess their suitability for sustainable packaging and piezoelectric applications, showing promising results.