Biodegradable plastics are a growing field in the realm of renewable resources. Non-biodegradable plastics use carbon chains and aryl rings as a main component of the polymer plastic backbone. Polyhydroxyalkonoates (PHA) integrate oxygen into the backbone, which makes the polymer biodegradable by certain bacteria and organisms. These molecules have small intermolecular forces that lead to reduced mechanical properties, such as brittleness, which make them unusable for everyday plastic uses.<br/>My research involves taking δ-valerolactone, alpha substituting with aryl rings of different functionality, and polymerizing with ring-opening polymerization. The product will have increased order and mechanical properties because of the aryl π-stacking. Aryl rings with hydrogen bond donors/acceptors will further increase the order by increasing the intermolecular forces between the aryl rings. The higher ordered systems will make a stronger polymer plastic that can potentially replace non-biodegradable plastics and still retain the biodegradable characteristics that are valued. I will examine how the conjugated system and differing functionality affect the biodegradable polymer’s properties of crystallinity, melting point, and tensile strength.

Improving properties of poly-valerolactone through aryl ring stacking

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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