Plastic pollution has become a serious environmental challenge, especially in the past two decades due to the ubiquitous use of plastics all over the world. To reduce plastic pollution, biodegradable polymers are in high demand as alternatives for common plastics. In this work, we study the degradability of poly(glycerol maleate)(PGM) in various aqueous environments to evaluate the influence of salinity and microorganisms on the degradation. PGM films are immersed in reverse osmosis (R.O.) water, fresh water, tap water, artificial seawater and seawater at 25 °C for 56 days. The mechanism of the degradation is discussed through mass remaining (%), water uptake (%), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and surface morphology via scanning electron microscope (SEM). It is revealed that PGM degrades efficiently in seawater and freshwater environments. Furthermore, with the presence of microorganisms, the degradation of PGM in seawater is slightly retarded, with over 95% of PGM films degraded within 56 days. Overall, PGM shows great potential as a biodegradable polymer that degrades rapidly in aqueous environments, regardless of the presences of microorganisms.

塑料污染已成为严重的环境挑战，尤其是在过去的二十年中，由于全世界都在广泛使用塑料，塑料污染已成为严重的环境挑战。为了减少塑料污染，对可生物降解的聚合物的需求很高，作为普通塑料的替代品。在这项工作中，我们研究了聚马来酸甘油酯（PGM）在各种水性环境中的降解性，以评估盐度和微生物对降解的影响。将PGM薄膜浸入25°C的反渗透（RO）水，淡水，自来水，人造海水和海水中56天。通过残留质量（％），吸水率（％），差示扫描量热法（DSC）和通过扫描电子显微镜（SEM）的表面形态来讨论降解的机理。据揭示，PGM在海水和淡水环境中可有效降解。此外，在微生物的存在下，海水中PGM的降解略有延迟，超过95％的PGM膜在56天内降解。总体而言，PGM作为一种可生物降解的聚合物显示出巨大的潜力，该聚合物可在水性环境中迅速降解，而不管是否存在微生物。