Effect of ZnO Nanoparticles on Tensile and Viscoelastic Properties of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) Bionanocomposites

Tensile and viscoelastic properties of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co- 3-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBHHx)/zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NP) bionanocomposites prepared by melt compounding at various ZnO-NP content ratios, i.e., 1.5, 3, and 6 wt% are investigated. The study of the comprehension of structure-properties relationships with respect to filler content allows to define an optimized composition of PHBHHx/ZnO. The results indicate that the incorporation of ZnO-NP led to improved tensile and viscoelastic properties overall the composition range, being however, much higher at 3 wt%. Nevertheless, the increase in both storage modulus (E ') and tensile modulus observed at 3 wt% is detrimental to flexibility and toughness compared with neat PHBHHx and the other PHBHHx/ZnO bionanocomposites.