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A New Generation of Furanic Copolyesters with Enhanced Degradability: Poly(ethylene 2,5‐furandicarboxylate)‐ co ‐poly(lactic acid) Copolyesters
Author(s) -
Matos Marina,
Sousa Andreia F.,
Fonseca Ana C.,
Freire Carmen S. R.,
Coelho Jorge F. J.,
Silvestre Armando J. D.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
macromolecular chemistry and physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1521-3935
pISSN - 1022-1352
DOI - 10.1002/macp.201400175
Subject(s) - thermogravimetric analysis , polyester , polymer chemistry , polymer , condensation polymer , monomer , materials science , petrochemical , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , hydrolysis , lactic acid , ethylene , organic chemistry , chemical engineering , chemistry , catalysis , biology , bacteria , engineering , genetics
2,5‐Furandicarboxylic acid is a promising renewable‐based monomer essentially used in polymer synthesis to prepare renewable‐based counterparts to petrochemical polyesters. In general, they are entirely based on renewable resources and have a myriad of very interesting thermal and mechanical properties; however, this study is the first to tackle their (bio)degradability, a worldwide‐demanded property. To address this demand, an entirely new generation of furandicarboxylate‐derived copolyesters, based on both poly(ethylene 2,5‐furandicarboxylate) (PEF) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA), is developed for the first time. These copolyesters are characterized by several techniques, including attenuated total reflectance‐Fourier transform IR (ATR‐FTIR), 1 H, and 13 C NMR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), DSC, and X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and their degradability behavior is evaluated by water‐absorption studies and hydrolytic degradation. They are essentially stiff amorphous polymers possessing high T g s, e.g., ca. 69 °C for 29% of lactyl units. Importantly, the data show also that they have improved degradability when compared with the PEF homopolyester counterpart.