Effect of Calcium Carbonate on Crystallization Behavior and Morphology of Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate-co-3-Hydroxyvalerate)

The effects of calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) concentration on crystallization behaviors and morphology of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate- co -3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) were investigated. Composites of PHBV with CaCO 3 were prepared with filler loadings of low (5 %wt ) and high concentration (20 %wt ) and these were subsequently compared to unloaded PHBV. The morphologies of PHBV composites on the freeze-fractured specimens were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM images revealed that increasing concentration of CaCO 3 resulted in agglomeration. This agglomeration might affect crystal growth rate and mechanism. The crystal growth behavior of melt-crystallized PHBV with different amounts of CaCO 3 was studied by polarized optical microscopy (POM), while the crystal structure was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The rate of crystal growth determined from POM at selected crystallization temperatures revealed that the addition of a small amount of CaCO 3 accelerated crystal growth rate, whereas excess amount of CaCO 3 had the opposite effect. The POM images were also used to illustrate the change of crystal growth process presence of CaCO 3 . The unloaded PHBV clearly showed nucleation and growth mechanism, while PHBV composites displayed nucleation and then combination of crystals during the growth process. However, CaCO 3 did not affect the crystal structure of any PHBV composite as observed by XRD. Molecular weight determination via gel permeation chromatography (GPC) indicated that there was no significant difference among PHBV composites.