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Synthesis and biodegradation of copolyesterether of copoly(succinic anhydride/ethylene oxide) with triblock copolymer of poly(oxyethylene)‐poly(oxypropylene)‐poly(oxyethylene)
Author(s) -
Maeda Y.,
Nakayama A.,
Arvanitoyannis I.,
Kawasaki N.,
Hayashi K.,
Aiba S.,
Yamamoto N.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4628(19980711)69:2<303::aid-app11>3.0.co;2-x
Subject(s) - polymer chemistry , ethylene oxide , copolymer , materials science , succinic anhydride , biodegradation , condensation polymer , rhizopus arrhizus , propylene oxide , polymer , chemistry , organic chemistry , lipase , composite material , enzyme
The thermal properties and biodegradability of the block copolyesterethers with copoly[succinic anhydride (SA)/ethylene oxide (EO)], synthesized by ring‐opening copolymerization as a hard segment and the triblock copolyethers of poly(oxyethylene)‐poly(oxypropylene)‐poly(oxyethylene) (PN) as a soft segment, were studied. The block copolyesterethers synthesized from higher than 8000 number‐average molecular weight ( M n ) of copoly(SA/EO)s showed a microphase separation structure as determined by the thermal properties [melting point ( T m ) and glass transition ( T g )], at any polymer composition [EO/propylene oxide (PO)] or the determination of M n of PN. A decrease in the M n of copoly(SA/EO) or an increase in PO content in PN resulted in depression of heats of fusion (Δ H ) of these block copolyesterethers. The enzymatic degradation of the block copolyesterethers by the lipase from Rhizopus arrhizus showed a substantial increase with a decrease in their Δ H , whereas it was depressed with an increase in the M n of polyoxyethylene or polyoxypropylene segment in the block copolyesterethers. The block copolyesterethers were degraded by microorganisms in activated sludge. The biodegradability of the block copolyesterethers showed a pronounced drop, with an increase in the polyoxyethylene chain length or polyoxypropylene content in PN. The polycondensation was also conducted without a catalyst at 190°C, similarly, to the reaction catalyzed with Ti[OCH(CH 3 ) 2 ] 4 at 170°C. The effect of the residual titanium on the biodegradability of the block copolyesterethers was negligible. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 69: 303–313, 1998