Synthesis of biodegradable polystyrene with vinyl ketone monomer in the presence of biodegradable fillers

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Sahand University of Technology

2 Faculty of Polymer Engineering, Sahand University of Technology, Postal Code: 5331817634, Tabriz, Iran

3 Faculty of Polymer Engineering and Institute of Polymeric Materials, Sahand University of Technology

Abstract

Hypothesis: Environmental pollution caused by plastics has raised numerous concerns and problems globally. One of the most widely used plastics is polystyrene, which is practically impossible to decompose naturally within a reasonable timeframe. Due to their light weight, flexibility, and ease of processing, synthetic polymers are increasingly used; however, their inherent non-degradability and high consumption inevitably lead to environmental pollution. To address this significant problem and prevent further environmental pollution, this study employed and evaluated two approaches: photodegradation and the incorporation of biodegradable fillers to produce biodegradable polystyrene composites. The effectiveness of combining these two methods to create degradable polystyrene was also evaluated.
Methods: In this study, starch and paraffin were used as fillers, and polystyrene composites containing varying percentages of starch and paraffin were synthesized via suspension polymerization technique. To accelerate the degradation process, oleic acid was deliberately employed as a vinyl ketone monomer and as an efficient photodegradation initiator, and its effect on degradation was investigated. For precise chemical analysis, attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and the carbonyl index (CI) were used to study the chemical degradation of polymer blends. Moreover, optical microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy were employed to investigate the physical degradation of polymer composites.
Findings: The results show that oleic acid aids the degradation process, and starch enhances biodegradability more effectively than paraffin. Consequently, the CI of pure PS, which is 0.54 after degradation, increases to 0.90 by adding only 3 percent starch. The presence of oleic acid in this composite further enhances the CI to 0.99. Therefore, the combined presence of starch and oleic acid significantly improves the biodegradability of polystyrene.

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Iranian Journal of Polymer Science and Technology
Volume 38, Issue 3 - Serial Number 197
September and October 2025

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