Macromolecular design of novel sulfur‐containing copolyesters with promising mechanical properties

Abstract

The miscibility of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS)/poly(butylene thiodiglycolate) (PBTDG) blends was investigated by DSC technique. PBS and PBTDG were completely immiscible in as blended-state, as evidenced by the presence of two T g s at À34 and À48 C, respectively. The miscibility changes upon mixing at elevated temperature: the original two phases merged into a single one because of transesterification reactions. Poly(butylene succinate/thiodiglycolate) block copolymers, prepared by reactive blending of the parent homopolymers, were studied to investigate the effects of transesterification reactions on the molecular structure and solid-state properties. 13 C-NMR analysis evidenced the formation of copolymers whose degree of randomness increased with mixing time.Thermal characterization results showed that all the samples were semicrystalline, with a soft rubbery amorphous phase and a rigid crystal phase whose amount decreased by introducing BTDG units into the PBS chain (20 v c 41). Lastly, the mechanical properties were found strictly related to crystallinity degree (v c ), the random copolymer, exhibiting the lowest elastic modulus (E ¼ 61 MPa) and the highest deformation at break (e b (%) ¼ 713).

A Review on Properties and Application of Bio-Based Poly(Butylene Succinate)

“…Due to their hydrophobicity, glycidyl methacrylate-grafted poly(butylene succinate) and palm fiber (PF) composites (glycidyl methacrylate-grafted poly(butylene succinate) (PBS-g-GMA)/PF) composites showed a greater tolerance to water absorption than PBS/PF composites. The hydrophilic aspect of PF induced an increase in water absorption as the percentage of PF increased [ 80 ].…”

“…Other research on PBS reinforced with sisal fiber showed higher impact resistance compared to bagasse, coconut and curaua fiber [ 74 ]. However, as the fiber content of a PBS/palm fiber composite was increased, the tensile and flexural strength of the composite decreased due to low fiber dispersion in the PBS matrix and incompatibility between the two materials [ 80 ]. Inter-fibrillar voids are created as entangled fibers clump together, leading to a decrease in connections and surface area between the fiber and matrix [ 79 ].…”

LAPONITE® nanorods regulating degradability, acidic-alkaline microenvironment, apatite mineralization and MC3T3-E1 cells responses to poly(butylene succinate) based bio-nanocomposite scaffolds

“…Previous studies demonstrated that biomaterials with hydrophilicity could be favourable for cell responses, thus endowing hydrophobic PBSu with good hydrophilicity would promote the cell responses (cell attachment and spreading). [24][25][26] In addition, slow degradation and biological inertness of PBSu may hinder the osteogenesis and new bone tissues ingrowth into the scaffold. 27,28 As a novel nanomaterial with excellent biocompatibility, bioactivity and degradability, LAP is a source of inspiration for the design of the new biomedical materials with improved biological performance because LAP can elicit specic biological responses.…”

Novel Random PBS-Based Copolymers Containing Aliphatic Side Chains for Sustainable Flexible Food Packaging

“…The big interest in PBS and its copolymers has been proven by the large number of published works in the literature: different possible applications have been evaluated, such as mulching films, food packaging, tissue engineering and drug delivery; degradation kinetics studies in different environments have been also carried out [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Since 2009, our research group has given its contribution in this research topic, by synthesizing and studying several block and random copolymers of PBS: only recently, we investigated the barrier performances of PBS and some of its statistical copolymers [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ].…”