The Study of Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone-Polyvinyl Alcohol Copolymers and Blends

The synthesis of new biodegradable polymers is of critical importance for preserving the environment and finding new ways to process ubiquitously used polymers to enhance their biodegradability is crucial for minimizing waste and anthropogenic environmental degradation. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) is known to be a biodegradable polymer and thus saponification of the pervasive Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone-Polyvinyl Acetate (PVP-PVAc) copolymer represents an unexplored opportunity for the production of a new biodegradable, water-soluble copolymer (PVP-PVOH). Herein we report on the facile saponification/hydrolysis of PVP-PVAc copolymers of various molecular weights and copolymer compositions and characterize the PVP-PVOH copolymer product via Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), differential refractive index increment measurements (DNDC), and Elemental Analysis (EA).