Biobased Engineering Thermoplastics: Poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) Blends

Poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PBF) constitutes a new engineering polyester produced from renewable resources, as it is synthesized from 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (2,5-FDCA) and 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BD), both formed from sugars coming from biomass. In this research, initially high-molecular-...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Niki Poulopoulou, George Kantoutsis, Dimitrios N. Bikiaris, Dimitris S. Achilias, Maria Kapnisti, George Z. Papageorgiou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-05-01
Series:Polymers
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/11/6/937
Description
Summary:Poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PBF) constitutes a new engineering polyester produced from renewable resources, as it is synthesized from 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (2,5-FDCA) and 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BD), both formed from sugars coming from biomass. In this research, initially high-molecular-weight PBF was synthesized by applying the melt polycondensation method and using the dimethylester of FDCA as the monomer. Furthermore, five different series of PBF blends were prepared, namely poly(<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">l</span>-lactic acid)&#8722;poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PLA&#8722;PBF), poly(ethylene terephthalate)&#8722;poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PET&#8722;PBF), poly(propylene terephthalate)&#8722;poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PPT&#8722;PBF), poly(butylene 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylate)-poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PBN&#8722;PBF), and polycarbonate&#8722;poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PC&#8722;PBF), by dissolving the polyesters in a trifluoroacetic acid/chloroform mixture (1/4 <i>v</i>/<i>v</i>) followed by coprecipitation as a result of adding the solutions into excess of cold methanol. The wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) patterns of the as-prepared blends showed that mixtures of crystals of the blend components were formed, except for PC which did not crystallize. In general, a lower degree of crystallinity was observed at intermediate compositions. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) heating scans for the melt-quenched samples proved homogeneity in the case of PET&#8722;PBF blends. In the remaining cases, the blend components showed distinct T<sub>g</sub>s. In PPT&#8722;PBF blends, there was a shift of the T<sub>g</sub>s to intermediate values, showing some partial miscibility. Reactive blending proved to improve compatibility of the PBN&#8722;PBF blends.
ISSN:2073-4360