Degradability of organic-inorganic cellulose acetate butyrate hybrids in sea water

Environmental degradability of novel organic-inorganic cellulose acetate butyrate hybrids obtained via solgel process was investigated. The degradation of hybrids was studied under marine exposure conditions in the Baltic Sea for a period of 25 weeks. The influence of characteristic parameters of sea water on the degree of degradation monitored by changes of weight and optical microscopy was discussed. The degraded samples were also examined by FT-IR spectroscopy. It has been established that the CAB/silica hybrids are more susceptible to biodegradation in sea water environment than pure cellulose acetate butyrate.