Synthesis and characterization of biodegradable poly(ester‐imide) nanocomposites with L‐alanine, curcumin, and modified rGO

Abstract

AbstractThe article discusses the synthesis of a novel biodegradable poly(ester‐imide) (PEI) based on L‐alanine, utilizing N‐trimellitylimido‐L‐alanine diacid and curcumin. The degradation tests of polymer in Tris‐Hcl buffer at 37.5°C after 2 weeks showed a decrease in average molecular weight from 2.38 × 104 to 1.85 × 104, which confirms the biodegradability of PEI. The PEI was further enhanced through in situ polymerization with reinforcing nanoparticles, rGO, and rGO‐EDA. Various characterization techniques were employed to evaluate the synthesized polymer and composites, including NMR, elemental analysis, FT‐IR, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X‐ray diffraction (XRD). PEI composites exhibited higher thermal stability than pure PEI. Tensile strength also improved significantly, with increases of 29.55% and 87.42% for rGO and rGO‐EDA compared to pure PEI. We suggest that these polymers have tunable properties, which may potentially be considered for biodegradable polymer scaffolds.