7 - Mechanical performance of poly(propylene carbonate)-based blends and composites

Abstract

Over the past few years, the field of renewable polymers has attracted wide interest across the scientific community especially owing to their bionature properties such as biobased, biodegradable, biocompatible, and biorenewable. In fact, biopolymers help to reduce the global dependence on petroleum-based polymers, reduce the accumulation of persistent plastic waste, and balance greenhouse gases by sequestrating or better controlling the emission of CO2 in the environment. Among the many different biopolymers available, polyalkylene carbonates (PAC) occupy a special place as they are synthesized from CO2, thereby leveraging enhanced sustainability compared to other biopolymers that are usually made from sugar resources. Polypropylene carbonate (PPC) is one such PAC that is synthesized from CO2 and propylene oxide in the presence of a metal catalyst. Compared to other PACs, the primary advantage of PPC is its wide range of tunable mechanical properties obtained by controlling the amount of ether linkage. This chapter provides a general overview of PACs and their synthesis mechanisms especially focusing on PPC, its blends (with bio- and synthetic polymers) and composites (with macro-, micro-, and nanoreinforcements) with special emphasis on the mechanical properties of PPC-based blends and composites. Finally, a summary of the static mechanical performance of PPC-based blends and composites is presented with criteria for designing these materials with enhanced properties.