Mono‐Materials Created by Engineering a Continuum of P3HB Stereomicrostructures in a One‐Step Catalytic Process

Abstract

Abstract Multi‐material products that combine multiple complementary polymers can create products with desired performance but present challenges to end‐of‐life (EoL) management. The emerging mono‐material product design based on a single polymer type addresses the fundamental EoL issue, but challenges of delivering vastly tunable material properties by the single polymer still remain. Here, we introduce a simple strategy to produce biodegradable poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB) materials with a wide range of material properties by engineering a stereomicrostructure continuum, achieved through polymerizing diastereomeric mixtures of racemic and meso ‐dimethyl diolides at various feed ratios with a single catalyst. This one‐step, one‐pot process produces biodegradable P3HB mono‐materials ranging from rigid to flexible thermoplastics, to tough thermoplastic elastomers, to a pressure‐sensitive adhesive (PSA), which have been then combined to fabricate prototype all‐P3HB PSA tapes, demonstrating the feasibility of designing mono‐material products through engineering polymer stereomicrostructures.