Green chemistry has provided solutions to current problems, including the development of biodegradable aliphatic-aromatic polyesters for agricultural applications to minimize plastic waste. However, environmental factors can influence the ultimate fate of these products. It is, therefore, important to understand the molecular mechanisms that govern the fate of these materials in soils, including photochemical transformations of the films on soils during use that may alter their subsequent biodegradability and mineralization in soils following use. This work aims to characterize the transformations of a variety of aliphatic-aromatic polyester polymers upon exposure to light and the effects these transformations have on polymer degradability. The polymer films under consideration are poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate and poly(butylene sebacate-co-terephthalate). We examined physicochemical changes in the light-exposed polymer films using different characterization techniques, including ATR-FTIR, fluorescence spectroscopy, and gel content analysis. The effect of photochemical treatment on the enzymatic hydrolysis rates of the films was assessed.

Photochemical transformation of aliphatic-aromatic polyesters and its impacts to degradability

249th National Meeting (2015)

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