Date & Time: Feb 28 2025 | 11:30am - 12:30pm Location: Davison Life Sciences Building, Room C112 Polyhydroxyalkanoates, a class of biodegradable polyester made by fermentation, are explored via extrusion with various additives for the goal of improving mechanical properties. Two types of PHA are used, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) with 6% hexanoate and 8% hexanoate, to understand how copolymer ratios affect properties. The two PHAs undergo blending and reactive extrusion with additives such as radical peroxide initiator, PLA, and other synthesized polyesters, and mechanical data is obtained through tensile testing. The strain at break and aging of PHA is aimed to be improved. Lastly, analytical method development was done to optimize a gas chromatography protocol to quantify leftover peroxide initiator in the samples after reactive extrusion. Type of Event: Materials Chemistry and Nanoscience Seminar Research Areas: Materials Chemistry and Nanoscience Courtney Keeler Department: Graduate Student, Department of Chemistry University of Georgia Learn more about the speaker https://chem.uga.edu/directory/people/courtney-keeler
