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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Designed for Molecular Recycling: A Lignin-Derived Semi-aromatic Biobased Polymer
Published on: November 30, 2020
Preparation and biodegradation of sugar-containing poly(vinyl acetate) emulsions
Akinori Takasu1, Michiko Baba, Tadamichi Hirabayashi
1Department of Environmental Technology and Urban Planning, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan. takasu.akinori@nitech.ac.jp
Abstract:
To accelerate the biodegradability of poly(vinyl acetate)-based emulsions, emulsion copolymerizations of vinyl sugars, including triacetylated N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc)-substituted 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (GlcNAc(Ac)3-substituted HEMA), glucose-substituted HEMA (GEMA) and 6-O-vinyladipoyl-D-glucose (6-O-VAG) with vinyl acetate (VAc), were carried out using poly(vinyl alcohol) as an emulsifying agent in the presence of poly[(butylene succinate)-co-(butylene adipate)] [poly(BS-co-BA)]. Copolymerization with GEMA produced a stable emulsion and that with 6-O-VAG also produced a homogeneous emulsion. Their biodegradation tests indicated that PVAc main chain scission was accelerated by copolymerization with vinyl sugars.
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