Influence of MicroPCMs on thermal and dynamic mechanical properties of a biodegradable P3HB4HB composite

Recently, owing to the increasing energy consumption and environment pollution problems, a fundamental understanding of thermo-regulating biodegradable polymer composites is becoming very significant. In this work, a smart biodegradable polymer composite based on microencapsulated phase change materials (MicroPCMs) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB4HB) was fabricated. FE-SEM images revealed that there exists a good interfacial adhesion between the polymer and MicroPCMs. The thermal properties and dynamic mechanical behaviors were examined using DSC, TGA and DMA, respectively. The results indicated that the higher the MicroPCMs content, the higher is the heat storage ability of the composite. The incorporation of MicroPCMs has evidently improved the thermal stability of the composite but decreased its storage modulus. When the loading content of MicroPCMs in the composite is beyond 10% by weight, only a very slight descending tendency of glass transition temperature (Tg) was found.