Stereomicrostructural Engineering of P3HB Towards Mono-Materials

Ethan Quinn, Postdoc Fellow at the California Institute of Technology (United States) presents a journey towards mono-material PHA products. Plastic products that we use every day typically require multiple types of polymers to achieve required barrier, mechanical, and aesthetic properties. The complexity from the different polymers generally complicates production methods as well as end-of-life options. Moving to mono-material products, those that are made from one type of polymer that has been modulated to achieve the material properties necessary for the necessary properties, is essential for sustainable production of next generation plastic products. In this presentation I will discuss how P3HB's material properties can be tuned from strong but brittle thermoplastics to tough thermoplastics, elastomers, and even hot-melt adhesives utilizing stereomicrostructural engineering and how these materials can be combined to create mono-Stereomicrostructural Engineering of P3HB Towards Mono-Materialsmaterial products.