Biodegradation of poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-polycarbonate blend sheets

Biodegradation of an extruded sheet of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) and blend sheets with polycarbonate (PC) prepared from the melts at various po lymer ratios was investigated. PCL, which is biodegradable in lipase AK and also by burial in soil, became less degraded in the blend with PC. The ble nd sheets (PCL/PC) were surface-treated with glow discharge plasmas from O- 2 and Ar, and the surface became hydrophilic by the treatments. Increase in the polar contribution of surface energy was related with the hydrophilici ty. The effects on the biodegradation were different depending on the type of plasma treatments; i.e. oxidative treatments by O-2-plasma increased the enzymatic biodegradation, while the Ar-plasma treatments rather decreased the degradation. The effects on degradation is discussed from the surface p henomena. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.