Review - Properties of blends and composites based on poly(3-hydroxy)butyrate (PHB) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) copolymers

Poly(3-hydroxy)butyrate (PHB) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) copolymers are microbial polyesters presenting the advantages of biodegradability and biocompatibility over other thermoplastics with useful mechanical properties. However, their costs and performances must be adjusted by blending with suitable polymers. In this article the miscibility, morphology, mechanical behaviour and other prominent characteristics of a representative number of blends and composites of PHB and PHBV are summarized. In particular, blends with a few polyethers, polyesters, polyvinylacrylates and polysaccharides are illustrated. Furthermore, a brief paragraph deals with PHB/vegetal fiber composites. A wide range of properties emerges by blending with polymers having very different molecular structures and characteristics, such as crystallinity, glass transition and melting temperatures. The microstructure of the blends, resulting from thermodynamic and kinetic factors, is regarded as an important factor in controlling the mechanical and the biodegradation behaviours. Moreover, some considerations upon the nature of the "driving force" of the miscibility have been made in order to explain miscibility behaviour differences. (C) 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers.