Preparation and characterization of chain extended Poly(butylene succinate) foams

Abstract

In order to improve the viscoelasticity and foamability, poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) was modified through reactive melt mixing with chain extender (CE) having multi epoxy-groups. Subsequently, the prepared chain extended PBS (CEPBS) was foamed in a high pressure stainless steel autoclave using CO 2 as physical blowing agent. The molecular weight, thermal properties, rheological properties, and foam properties of various PBS samples were characterized using gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, rotational rheometer, and scanning electron microscope, respectively. With the introduction of CE, the molecular weight, the crystallization temperature, the complex viscosity and storage modulus of PBS were increased and the crystallization degree of PBS was decreased. At the CE content of 0.75 phr, the cross-linking structure was formed and the expansion volume ratio increased to nearly 15 times, which meant the chain extension played an important role in the foaming process of PBS. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:988-994, 2015.

Morphology, thermal, and crystallization properties of poly(butylene succinate)‐grafted Nanocrystalline Cellulose by polymerization in situ

“…The most noted dicarboxylic acid‐derived polymer is PBS, which exhibits brilliant mechanical capabilities, processibility, and biodegradability . Commercially effective PBS is manufactured by a condensation reaction of succinic acid and 1,4‐butanediol , producing a semicrystalline polymer with a glass‐state transition temperature of −37 °C and melting point of 114 °C .…”

Role of chain extension in the rheological properties, crystallization behaviors, and microcellular foaming performances of poly (butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate)

“…The torque values of CE‐PBAT samples increased gradually after the first peak, attributing to the chain extension and/or crosslinking reaction between PBAT and CE. In addition to that, the final torque value of CE‐PBAT samples enhanced gradually with increasing CE content, which was ascribed to the generation and increment of branching and crosslinking structure in CE‐PBAT samples . It could be speculated that the viscosity of CE‐PBAT samples increased with increasing concentration of CE.…”

“…It should be ascribed to the chain scission resulting from the thermal degradation and hydrolyzation. It could be found in Table that the M w of CE‐PBAT increased with increasing content of CE from 0 to 0.3 phr . However, with the content of CE increased from 0.3 to 0.6 phr, the M w of CE‐PBAT decreased from 1.20 × 10 5 to 1.05 × 10 5 g mol −1 and gel was formed.…”

“…With CE content increased from 0 to 0.15 phr, the χ c increased from 9.1 to 10.9%. This should be attributed to the heterogeneous nucleation effect of branching points in CE‐PBAT samples for the crystallization . With the CE content increasing further, the χ c of CE‐PBAT samples was decreased gradually, which may be caused by the increment of gel fraction.…”

Preparation of Enhanced Poly(butylene succinate) Foams

“…However, the low melt viscosity and molecular weight of PBS usually limit its further applications due to the highly linear chain structure , especially in areas requiring sufficient melt viscosity, such as foaming and blow molding. Thus some methods have been developed to increase the melt viscosity of PBS, such as crosslinking of PBS via peroxide , water‐crosslinking , radiation by electron‐beam or ultraviolet , chain extension and branching . Furthermore, some works on PBS foams have also been reported.…”