Question

Which of the following is a biodegradable polymer?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

Answer 1

Biodegradable polymers are the polymers that can be decomposed by microbial action yielding natural by-products such as gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water, biomass, and inorganic salts.

Complete step by step solution:
-A substance or a material consisting of very large molecules, or macromolecules, which are composed of many repeating units are called polymers.
-The word polymer is derived from the Greek word ‘polus’ meaning many or much and ‘meros’ meaning part.
-A polymer-based on the origin of source, can be of three classes, natural polymers, synthetic polymers, and semi-synthetic polymers.
-Additionally, polymers are divided into two special classes as biodegradable and non-biodegradable polymers.
-The polymers that break down after its intended purpose by bacterial decomposition either by an aerobic or anaerobic process, giving natural and simpler by-products are called Biodegradable polymers.
-Non-biodegradable polymers are the polymers that cannot be or very slowly decomposed by the action of microorganisms.
-Most common examples of biodegradable polymers are aliphatic polyesters.
-The structure in option A is Nylon 6,6 polymer. Nylon 6,6 also known as nylon 66 obtained by the polymerization of adipic acid with hexamethylene diamine is a non-biodegradable polymer.
-The structure in option B is Nylon 6 polymer which was developed to reduce the properties of nylon 66 polymer. The presence of amide bonds in the molecules makes the molecule non-biodegradable.
-The structure in option C is Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) is a thermoplastic polymer used as an insulator in electrical and electronics industries. PBT is not a biodegradable polymer.
-The structure in option D is Nylon-2-Nylon-6 which is a copolymer of glycine and w-aminocaproic acid along with polyamide linkages. This is a biodegradable polymer.

Hence the correct answer is option D.

Note: Biodegradable polymers have significant applications in various fields including medicine, agriculture, and packaging. One of the most and trending uses of biodegradable polymers are in controlled drug delivery and release.