Crystallization and its effect on the mechanical properties of a medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoate

Medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoates (mcl-PHAs) could play a role in the growing demand for highly elastic and biodegradable materials in the medical field. In this study, a poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (P(3HO-co-3HH)) was first fully characterized in terms of molecular weight, microstructural chain parameters and chemical structure by means of gel permeation chromatography (GPC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). As determined by NMR, the synthesized polymer contained 94.3% and 5.7% molar content of 3-hydroxyoctanoate and 3-hydroxyhexanoate, respectively. Since mechanical properties are closely related to thermal history, the effect of crystallization on tensile properties was also investigated in the present study. Three crystallization temperatures were selected (0, 23 and 37°C), the conclusion reached is that the maximum crystallization rate for this copolymer was achieved at 0°C. On the other hand, evolution of tensile properties of P(3HO-co-3HH) films stored at room temperature demonstrated that, as crystallization occurred toward the equilibrium state, the polymer underwent a stiffening process. In this sense, secant modulus and tensile strength increased respectively from 8.3 ± 1.0 MPa and 6.4 ± 0.8 MPa after 1 day stored at room temperature to 36.2 ± 3.3 MPa and 16.3 ± 2.1 MPa after 16 weeks.