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The introduction of polyesters has brought major development to the textile industry. The wrinkle-free behavior of polyester blends has eliminated the need for starching and ironing clothes.
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Step-growth or condensation polymerization is a stepwise reaction of bi or multifunctional monomers to form long-chain polymers. As all the monomers are reactive, most of the monomers are consumed at the early stages of the reaction to form small chains of reactive oligomers, which then combine to form long polymer chains in the late stages. Hence, the reaction has to proceed for a long time to achieve high molecular weight polymers.
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The polymerization process that involves carbanion as an intermediate is called anionic polymerization. It is also a type of addition or chain-growth polymerization. Anionic polymerization gets initiated by a strong nucleophile such as an organolithium or a Grignard reagent. The most commonly used initiator for anionic polymerization is butyl lithium. Monomers involved in anionic polymerization must possess a vinyl group bonded to one or two electron-withdrawing groups. For instance,...
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Polymers are classified as linear or branched on the basis of their chain architecture. The polymer chains in linear polymers have a long chain-like structure with minimal to no branching at all. Even if a polymer features large substituent groups on the monomer, which appear as branches to the skeleton, it is not considered a branched polymer. A branched polymer contains secondary polymer chains that arise from the main polymer chain. The branching occurs when the polymer growth shifts from...
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Polymerization generates chiral centers along the entire backbone of a polymer chain. Accordingly, the stereochemistry of the substituent group has a significant effect on polymer properties. Polymers formed from monosubstituted alkene monomers feature chiral carbons at every alternate position in the polymer backbone. Relative to the predominant orientation of substituents at the adjacent chiral carbons, the polymer can exist in three different configurations: isotactic, syndiotactic, and...
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Polyhydroxyalkanoates: Properties and chemical modification approaches for their functionalization.

Zulfiqar Ali Raza1, Shahina Riaz1, Ibrahim M Banat2

  • 1Dept. of Applied Sciences, National Textile University, Faisalabad, 37610, Pakistan.

Biotechnology Progress
|September 30, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Chemical modifications enhance polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), versatile biopolymers, by adding functional groups. This review explores advanced chemical modification techniques to expand PHA applications.

Keywords:
PHAsPHBchemicalpolyhydroxyalkanoatespolyhydroxybutyrates

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Area of Science:

  • Polymer Chemistry
  • Biomaterials Science

Background:

  • Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are hydrophobic biopolymers with limited functional groups, restricting their industrial applications.
  • Surface and chemical modifications are crucial for improving PHA properties like mechanical strength, degradation rate, and amphiphilicity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review various chemical modification approaches for PHAs.
  • To introduce recent, underexplored chemical modification methods for PHAs.
  • To highlight how these modifications can broaden PHA applications.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on PHA chemical modifications.
  • Discussion of novel chemical strategies for functionalizing PHAs.
  • Analysis of how modifications impact PHA properties.

Main Results:

  • Chemical modifications can introduce functional groups not achievable through biotechnological methods.
  • Modified PHAs exhibit altered mechanical properties, surface structures, and degradation rates.
  • Advanced chemical techniques offer new avenues for tailoring PHAs.

Conclusions:

  • Chemical modification is essential for unlocking the full potential of PHAs.
  • Exploring novel chemical approaches can significantly expand the range of PHA products and applications.
  • Chemically modified PHAs hold promise for diverse future industrial uses.