The Effect of Polystyrene on the Crystallization of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)

Mechanical properties, morphology and nonisothermal crystallization of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and blends of PHB and polystyrene (PS) were studied by tensile tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). A two-phase structure composed by a PHB matrix and nearly spherical particles of PS was clearly noticed in SEM images. The presence of small amounts (0.5% to 3%) of amorphous PS affected the crystallinity of PHB, being more evident when high cooling rates were applied. The kinetics of nonisothermal crystallization was modeled according to Ozawa equation. The dependence of Ozawa parameters on temperature followed the same trend for PHB and PHB/PS blends; model parameters were found to be lower for the blends than for the neat PHB.