Effect of Poly(ethylene glycol) on the Ultrastructure and Physicochemical Properties of the Poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate)

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Chemical conjugation or blending with poly(ethylene glycols) (PEGs) are established procedures to facilitate solubilisation of hydrophobic compounds. The techniques of bioPEGylation and blending with PEG were applied to poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate). In this paper we have examined the properties of copolymer of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐poly(ethylene glycol)) (PHB‐PEG) and composite material polyhydroxybutyrate with poly(ethylene glycol) (PHB + PEG) compared to homopolymer of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). It was found that copolymer has significally different mechanical and thermophysical properties with respect to pure PHB: an increased crystallinity but a decreased Young's modulus and elongation at break. Moreover, the creation of the composite, and a copolymer of PHB with PEG results in a change in surface morphology of ultrathin films.