In recent years, the development of ecofriendly biodegradable packaging materials from natural polymers particularly agricultural products has received increasing attention in an attempt to substitute the existing nonbiodegradable petro‐based polymers. The need for new polymeric materials with tailored properties has driven the interest of industry and academia toward polymer blends. Vegetable oils are known to possess varying amounts of triglycerides having different unsaturation in their chains. Blending of commercial polymers with vegetable oil derived polymers is, therefore, expected to show synergetic behavior in terms of compatibility, physical, and mechanical characteristics with the latter. In an attempt to develop a biodegradable packaging material, blends of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and castor oil epoxy (COE) were synthesized in the weight ratios of 70/30, 60/40, 50/50, 40/60, and 30/70 by a microwave method. The effect of COE component as well as microwave irradiation on the compatibility and microstructural properties of the blends was investigated using spectral, viscometric, thermal, and morphological techniques. We observed tremendous improvement in mechanical properties after microwave irradiation for 120 s in COE/PVA 70/30 blend due to optimum cross‐linking through hydrogen bond formation among the blend components. These results were supported by the SEM as well the TEM data. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 30: 96–109, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/adv.20207
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.