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Biodegradable polymers based on renewable resources. VI. Synthesis and biodegradability of poly(ester carbonate)s containing 1,4:3,6‐dianhydro‐ D ‐glucitol and sebacic acid units
Author(s) -
Okada Masahiko,
Yokoe Makito,
Aoi Keigo
Publication year - 2002
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/app.10995
Subject(s) - carbonate , biodegradation , diphenyl carbonate , polymer chemistry , polycarbonate , polyester , dimethyl carbonate , chemistry , materials science , trimethylene carbonate , transesterification , polymer , organic chemistry , catalysis , copolymer
Poly(ester carbonate)s with different compositions were synthesized by bulk polycondensation of 1,4:3,6‐dianhydro‐ D ‐glucitol with diphenyl sebacate and diphenyl carbonate in the presence of zinc acetate as a catalyst. Most of the poly(ester carbonate)s as well as the corresponding polycarbonate were amorphous, except the poly(ester carbonate) with a small carbonate content and the corresponding polyester, which are semicrystalline. All these poly(ester carbonate)s are soluble in chloroform, pyridine, dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, and N,N ‐dimethylacetamide. Soil burial degradation tests, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) measurements in an activated sludge, and enzymatic degradation tests indicated that these poly(ester carbonate)s are potentially biodegradable. The biodegradability was found to be maximum for the poly(ester carbonate)s with carbonate contents of 10–20 mol % and to decrease markedly for the poly(ester carbonate)s with the carbonate content above 50 mol %. The biodegradability of the poly(ester carbonate)s is discussed in terms of the crystallinity, glass transition temperature, and surface hydrophobicity of the polymer films. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 872–880, 2002