Soil burial biodegradability studies of low molecular weight poly(hydroxy ether) of bisphenol-A and its ester modified copolymers

A series of low molecular weight copolymers (poly(hydroxy ether ester)s) and a homopolymer (poly(hydroxy ether)) have been synthesised by the condensation of a diglycidylether of bisphenol-A, bisphenol-A, and malonic acid and tested for their biodegradability under soil burial test conditions. For a maximum duration of 82 days of soil exposure and at an ambient temperature of 25–32°C, the ester modified copolymers were found to be significantly more susceptible to biodegradation than the homopolymer. At higher malonic acid content, the copolymers suffered extensive degradation. The extent of degradation was monitored by the percentage weight loss and chemical changes using IR, UV, and NMR spectroscopy at different intervals of soil exposure time.