Environmentally Benign Fast-Degrading Conductive Composites

Abstract

An environmentally benign conductive composite that rapidly degrades in the presence of warm water via enzymemediated hydrolysis is described. This represents the first time that hydrolytic enzymes have been immobilized onto eco-friendly conductive carbon sources with the express purpose of degrading the encapsulating biodegradable plastic. Amano Lipase (AL)functionalized carbon nanofibers (CNF) were compounded with polycaprolactone (PCL) to produce the composite film CNF AL -PCL (thickness ∼ 600 μm; CNF AL = 20.0 wt %). To serve as controls, films of the same thickness were also produced, including