Hydrolyzable and bio-based polyester/nano-hydroxyapatite nanocomposites: Structure and properties

Hydrolyzable and bio-based poly(DHCA-co-HDA) (PDH)/nano-hydroxyapatite (n-HA) nanocomposites were fabricated by polycondensation of 3,4-dihydroxycinnamic acid (DHCA) and 10-hydroxydecanoic acid (HDA) with various amount of n-HA. The structure of nanocomposites was characterized by FT-IR. DSC results indicated that the Tgs of the nanocomposites were improved with increasing n-HA content. The SEM micromorphology revealed that n-HA nano-particles were well dispersed in PDH, which was due to the good compatibility between n-HA and PDH. With addition of n-HA in PDH, the tensile strength of nanocomposites prominently enhanced, however the elongation at break reduced. The presence of n-HA increased the hydrophilicity and hydrolysis rate of PDH/n-HA nanocomposites. Moreover, the hydrophilicity and degradation rate of nanocomposites can be altered through varying the content of n-HA.