i

Organic Chemistry

Biodegradable Polymers

Polymers such as polysaccharides such as starch, cellulose, protein and nucleic acids which controls the various life processes are called biopolymer. All these biopolymer disintegrate by themselves in a biological system during a certain period of time by enzymatic hydrolysis and to some extent by oxidation and hence are biodegradable. As a result, they do not cause any pollution. These are called biodegradable polymers.

Aliphatic polyesters are biodegradable polymers. Some examples of Biodegradable polymers are Poly β-hydroxybutyrate – co-β-hydroxy valerate (PHBV), Nylon 2–nylon 6, etc.

Remember, these frequently asked important structures, monomers, and polymers.