TY - JOUR A1 - Thiele, Isabel A1 - Santolin, Lara A1 - Meyer, Klas A1 - Machatschek, Rainhard A1 - Bölz, Uwe A1 - Tarazona, Natalia A. A1 - Riedel, Sebastian L. T1 - Microbially synthesized poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyhexanoate) with low to moderate hydroxyhexanoate content: Properties and applications N2 - Plastic pollution is the biggest environmental concern of our time. Breakdown products like micro- and nanoplastics inevitably enter the food chain and pose unprecedented health risks. In this scenario, bio-based and biodegradable plastic alternatives have been given a momentum aiming to bridge a transition towards a more sustainable future. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are one of the few thermoplastic polymers synthesized 100 % via biotechnological routes which fully biodegrade in common natural environments. Poly(hydroxybutyrate-cohydroxyhexanoate) [P(HB-co-HHx)] is a PHA copolymer with great potential for the commodity polymers industry, as its mechanical properties can be tailored through fine-tuning of its molar HHx content. We have recently developed a strategy that enables for reliable tailoring of the monomer content of P(HB-co-HHx). Nevertheless, there is often a lack of comprehensive investigation of the material properties of PHAs to evaluate whether they actually mimic the functionalities of conventional plastics. We present a detailed study of P(HB-co-HHx) copolymers with low to moderate hydroxyhexanoate content to understand how the HHx monomer content influences the thermal and mechanical properties and to link those to their abiotic degradation. By increasing the HHx fractions in the range of 2 – 14 mol%, we impart an extension of the processing window and application range as the melting temperature (Tm) and glass temperature (Tg) of the copolymers decrease from Tm 165 ◦C to 126 ◦C, Tg 4 ◦C to − 5.9 ◦C, accompanied by reduced crystallinity from 54 % to 20 %. Elongation at break was increased from 5.7 % up to 703 % at 14 mol% HHx content, confirming that the range examined was sufficiently large to obtain ductile and brittle copolymers, while tensile strength was maintained throughout the studied range. Finally, accelerated abiotic degradation was shown to be slowed down with an increasing HHx fraction decreasing from 70 % to 55 % in 12 h. KW - Molecular Biology KW - General Medicine KW - Biochemistry KW - Structural Biology PY - 2024 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-595636 VL - 263 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-59563 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -