Mono-Materials Created by Engineering a Continuum of P3HB Stereomicrostructures in a One-Step Catalytic Process

Multi-material products that combine multiple complementary polymers can create products with desired performance but present challenges to end-of-life (EoL) management. The emerging mono-material product design based on a single polymer type addresses the fundamental EoL issue, but challenges of delivering vastly tunable material properties by the single polymer still remain. Here, we introduce a simple strategy to produce biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB) materials with a wide range of material properties by engineering a stereomicrostructure continuum, achieved through polymerizing diastereomeric mixtures of racemic and meso-dimethyl diolides at various feed ratios with a single catalyst. This one-step, one-pot process produces biodegradable P3HB mono-materials ranging from rigid to flexible thermoplastics, to tough thermoplastic elastomers, to a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA), which have been then combined to fabricate prototype all-P3HB PSA tapes, demonstrating the feasibility of designing mono-material products through engineering polymer stereomicrostructures.. Authors: Quinn, Ethan [Colorado State University]; Parker, Celine [Colorado State University]; Gace, Maelle [Colorado State University]; Lee, Minjung [National Laboratory of the Rockies, Golden, CO (United States)]; Xu, Shu [Argonne National Laboratory]. DOE Contract: AC36-08GO28308. Subjects: 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; 37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; mono-materials; poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB) materials; pressure-sensitive adhesive