Novel Unsaturated Aliphatic Polyesters: Synthesis, Characterization, and Properties of Multiblock Copolymers Composing of Poly(Butylene Fumarate) and Poly(1,2-Propylene Succinate)

Abstract

Widespread application of biodegradable polyesters is restrained by various disadvantages such as inadequate thermomechanical properties, high cost, and lack of reactive sites for further modification. Poly(butylene fumarate) (PBF), as a novel and low-cost aliphatic polyester, possesses good physical properties and reactive double bonds along with the polymer backbones which can be potentially modified to endow the polyester with specific properties. However, the biodegradation rate of PBF is too slow to meet the requirement of practical application. In this contribution, amorphous poly(1,2-propylene succinate) (PPS) was copolymerized with PBF to decrease the crystallinity (Xc) and accelerate the biodegradability of PBF via chain-extension with diisocyanate. The chemical structures of the copolymers were confirmed by 1H NMR spectra and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The crystal structure and physicochemical properties were investigated by wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), differential scanning ca...