Abstract
In the era of polymers from renewable resources, polyesters derived from 2,5 furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) have received increasing attention due to their outstanding features. To commercialize them, it is necessary to synthesize high molecular weight polymers through efficient and simple methods. In this study, two furan-based polyesters, namely poly (propylene furanoate) (PPF) and poly(butylene furanoate) (PBF), were synthesized with the conventional two-step melt polycondensation, followed by solid-state polycondensation (SSP) conducted at different temperatures and reaction times. Molecular weight, structure and thermal properties were measured for all resultant polyesters. As expected, increasing SSP time and temperature results in polymers with increased intrinsic viscosity (IV), increased molecular weight and reduced carboxyl end-group content. Finally, those results were used to generate a simple mathematical model that prognosticates the time evolution of the materials’ IV and end groups concentration during SSP.
Highlights
In recent years, there is an ever-growing concern to develop bio-based and biodegradable plastics
Poly(propylene furanoate) and poly(butylene furanoate) polyesters were synthesized via a twoPoly(propylene furanoate) and poly(butylene furanoate) polyesters were synthesized via a stage polycondensation reaction with Tetrabutyl titanate(IV) (TBT) as a catalyst, as aforementioned in the experimental part
Similar for poly(butylene furanoate) (PBF), intrinsic viscosity (IV) started from 0.53 dL/g to reach 0.62, 0.67, and 0.78 dL/g after 4 h rates for the studied polyesters
Summary
There is an ever-growing concern to develop bio-based and biodegradable plastics. The main reasons behind this are the fluctuation of crude oil prices, as the production of polymers consumes nearly 10% of the annually produced oil [2] and that uncontrolled disposal has led to accumulation of microplastics in the environment on the so-called “garbage patches” [3]. To resolve these issues, research has focused on the exploitation of biomass, in the form of renewable feedstocks like lignin and carbohydrates, to develop novel polymeric materials [4] through the biorefinery system. Several green monomers have been screened through this process, and among them 2,5 furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) holds a prominent position.
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