N,N-dibutyldodecanamide as a novel environmentally friendly plasticizer for polyvinyl chloride

Tertiary fatty amide, N,N-dibutyldodecanamide (DBDA), has been synthesized and evaluated as a new environmentally friendly plasticizer for polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Homogeneous PVC/DBDA films containing from 10 to 40 wt% fatty amide were prepared by solvent casting. Infrared analysis of PVC/DBDA compositions indicates molecular interactions between the –CH-Cl group of PVC and the amide carbonyl group. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis revealed the plasticizing efficacy of DBDA toward PVC. Thus, the introduction of DBDA (20 % and 30 %) into PVC significantly reduced its glass transition temperature by 67.4 °C and 80.4 °C, respectively. According to the results of thermal gravimetric analysis, the thermal degradation point of PVC/DBDA compositions is higher than the actual processing temperature of plasticized PVC. DBDA plasticizer was also found to have a high resistance to migration from PVC films, similar to that of common green plasticizer ESO. Microbiological analysis indicates that PVC/DBDA films are not toxic for the biofilm-forming bacterial strains Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. The biodegradability of DBDA plasticizer, determined by a primary biodegradation test CEC L-33-A93, was found to be 96.5 % after 21 days. Overall, tertiary fatty amide DBDA can be considered as a new promising plasticizer for PVC, alternative to common toxic phthalate esters.