The biodegradation of amorphous and crystalline regions in film-blown poly(epsilon-caprolactone)

The surface erosion of films of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) in compost , in anaerobic sewage sludge and by Aspergillus fumigatus was compared with chemical hydrolysis (23 and 50 degrees C). Biodegraded samples displayed g rooves or cracks arranged in parallel, whereas samples exposed to an abioti c environment showed no surface changes. Differences in micro-flora togethe r with the initial morphology of the sample resulted in different mechanism s of erosion. The degradation in compost resulted in parallel grooves or cr acks, while A. fumigatus produced a spherulitic erosion pattern. A preferen tial degradation in the amorphous parts produced low-molar mass fractions w ith lengths corresponding to one, two or several times the thickness of the crystal lamellae. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.