Thermal degradation kinetics of biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/layered double hydroxide nanocomposites

The thermal degradation behaviors of biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and PHB/poly(ethylene glycol) phosphonates (PEOPAs)-modified layered double hydroxide (PMLDH) nanocomposites have been investigated using thermogravimetric analysis. Effects of PMLDH contents on the isothermal degradation kinetics of PHB were explored. These experimental results show that the degradation kinetics of PHB/PMLDH nanocomposites is the chain-scission process of cyclic β-elimination reaction with the following autocatalytic reactions, which is very similar to that of pure PHB matrix. Further calculated data based on the autocatalytic model can fit very well with the experimental data. The Ea value of PHB/PMLDH nanocomposites is increased as the content of PMLDH increases. This can be attributed to the incorporation of more PMLDH loading to PHB induced a decrease in the degradation rate and an increase in the residual weight for PHB/PMLDH nanocomposites. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 1207–1213, 2008