Microplastics have become a major source of concern in terms of public health and environmental pollution. These solid polymer particles, smaller than 5 mm, are indeed found in the oceans and can enter the food chain. Faced with this problem(s), numerous regulations are being put in place at the international level to limit or even ban the use of microplastics. In this context, microcapsules, i.e. polymer particles smaller than one micrometer, have become a major industrial problem. Microencapsulation is indeed a process widely used on a large scale to encapsulate different internal phases (inks, perfumes or dyes). Among the different elaboration methods, the polycondensation of melamine (M) with formaldehyde (F) is certainly one of the most used producing MF (or aminoplast) microcapsules used in fabric softeners, cosmetics and personal care products.<br/>Even if the MF microcapsules are highly performant with high hardness and mechanical robustness, good heat and water resistance, their main drawbacks are today their lack of degradability and the use of formaldehyde in the formulation.<br/>To find an alternative to the MF process, we developed a more ecologically friendly method to produce biodegradable microcapsules. To achieve this goal, we used an aza-michael addition reaction to form polymeric membranes composed of crosslinked poly(β-amino esters) that are known to be sensitive to hydrolysis. The synthesis and properties of these biodegradable microcapsules will be presented in this work.

Towards the biodegradability of microcapsules: A poly(β-amino ester) approach

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ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.