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Development of High-Performance Biobased Polyesters

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2022) | Viewed by 14704

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Fibre and Polymer Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Teknikringen 56-58, 10044 Stockholm, Sweden
Interests: design of biobased (co)/polyesters; bioplastics; melt polycondensation; 2,5-Furan dicarboxylic acid-based polymers; solid-state polycondensation; Isosorbide; polyester blends; crystallization behaviour; ring opening polymerization; isocyanate-free polyurethane; renewable resources-derived polymers

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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: synthesis and characterization of polyesters; development of biobased polymers; biodegradable polymers; polymer composites and nanocomposites; synthesis and characterization of copolymers; polymer blends; recycling of polymers with various techniques; enzymatic hydrolysis studies; modification of natural polymers; polymer for wastewater treatment pollutant removal; polymers for tissue engineering and drug delivery applications; drug–polymer solid dispersions; drug targeting; drug nanoencapsulation and microencapsulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Fibre and Polymer Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Teknikringen 58, 11428 Stockholm, Sweden
Interests: development of degradable, biobased and/or recyclable polymers; polymer degradation and recycling; valorization of waste/by-products to value added chemicals and carbon products for further utilization in design of new additives; polymers and composites; additive manufacturing; materials for packaging, biomedical and environmental applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over recent years, extensive research has been performed—both in academic and industrial contexts—with the shared aim of developing high-performance bio-based polyesters. This class of polymers is attracting a tremendous level of interest owing to the rapid and imminent depletion of petroleum raw materials, alongside the serious environmental issues associated with their use and extraction.

In this context, thanks to the technological advancements and a surge in scientific studies, a great deal of work has recently been devoted to the conversion of biomass (polysaccharides, lignin, vegetable oils, sugars, terpenes, etc.) into numerous sustainable aromatic/aliphatic/cyclic building blocks in the form of diacids and diols. These promising monomers (diacids, such as 2,5-furandicarboxylic, itaconic, lactic, vanillic, succinic, 3-hydroxypropionic, azelaic, sebacic, terephthalic and levulinic acids etc. and glycols, such as isosorbide, 1,2,4-butanetriol, ethylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,2,6-hexanetriol, glycerol, etc.; to name but a few) provide access to a wide range of functional (co)polyesters that possess unique features and superior properties. The latter may endow them with a great potential to be used for a huge variety of practical applications. To achieve this goal, concerted efforts have been made to develop the biotechnology necessary for biorefinery infrastructure. The latter plays an important role in establishing the concept of a “circular bioeconomy”, which has been increasingly cited in the scientific literature since 2016. To summarize, success in developing renewable feedstock-derived polyesters heralds the opportunity to build a green material orientated world, thereby moving away from fossil fuels to a biobased economy, which is clearly the desire of communities.

The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the recent progress on the synthesis, characterization, investigation of properties, and applications of polyesters derived from natural feedstocks, including their copolyesters, polyester blends and (nano)composites.

Dr. Nejib Kasmi
Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Bikiaris
Prof. Dr. Minna Hakkarainen
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • biobased polyesters
  • renewable monomers
  • biodegradable polyesters
  • aliphatic polyesters
  • copolyesters
  • aliphatic-aromatic polyesters
  • isosorbide
  • 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid
  • 1,10-decanediol
  • Bioplastics

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 5801 KiB  
Article
Improving the Wet-Spinning and Drawing Processes of Poly(lactide)/Poly(ethylene furanoate) and Polylactide/Poly(dodecamethylene furanoate) Fiber Blends
by Claudia Fabris, Davide Perin, Giulia Fredi, Daniele Rigotti, Mauro Bortolotti, Alessandro Pegoretti, Eleftheria Xanthopoulou, Dimitrios N. Bikiaris and Andrea Dorigato
Polymers 2022, 14(14), 2910; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14142910 - 17 Jul 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2972
Abstract
This work aims to produce poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly(alkylene furanoate)s (PAF)s fiber blends for textile applications and evaluates their microstructural, chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties. The work focuses on two PAFs with very different alkyl chain lengths, i.e., poly(ethylene 2,5−furandicarboxylate) (PEF) and poly(dodecamethylene 2,5−furandicarboxylate) [...] Read more.
This work aims to produce poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly(alkylene furanoate)s (PAF)s fiber blends for textile applications and evaluates their microstructural, chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties. The work focuses on two PAFs with very different alkyl chain lengths, i.e., poly(ethylene 2,5−furandicarboxylate) (PEF) and poly(dodecamethylene 2,5−furandicarboxylate) (PDoF), which were blended in solution at various concentrations (in the range 2.5–10 wt %) with PLA, wet spun, and subsequently drawn. Light optical micrographs highlight that PLA/PEF blends present large and concentrate PEF domains, whereas PLA/PDoF blends show small and homogeneously distributed PDoF domains. The blends appear to be immiscible, which is confirmed also by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier−Transform Infrared (FT−IR) spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) highlights that the addition of the PAFs improves the thermal stability of the fibers. The drawing process, which was carried out at 80 °C with a heat setting step at 95 °C and at three draw ratios, improves the mechanical properties of the fibers upon the addition of the PAFs. The results obtained in this study are promising and may serve as a basis for future investigations on these novel bio−based fiber blends, which can contribute to increase the environmental sustainability of industrial textiles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of High-Performance Biobased Polyesters)
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18 pages, 3994 KiB  
Article
High Mechanical Properties of Stretching Oriented Poly(butylene succinate) with Two-Step Chain Extension
by Xun Li, Min Xia, Xin Dong, Ren Long, Yuanhao Liu, Yiwan Huang, Shijun Long, Chuanqun Hu and Xuefeng Li
Polymers 2022, 14(9), 1876; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14091876 - 4 May 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2724
Abstract
The structure, morphology, fracture toughness and flaw sensitivity length scale of chain-extended poly(butylene succinate) with various pre-stretch ratios were studied. PBS modification adopted from a multifunctional, commercially available chain-extension containing nine epoxy groups (ADR9) as the first step chain extension and hydroxyl addition [...] Read more.
The structure, morphology, fracture toughness and flaw sensitivity length scale of chain-extended poly(butylene succinate) with various pre-stretch ratios were studied. PBS modification adopted from a multifunctional, commercially available chain-extension containing nine epoxy groups (ADR9) as the first step chain extension and hydroxyl addition modified dioxazoline (BOZ) as the second step. Time-temperature superposition (TTS) studies show that the viscosity increased sharply and the degree of molecular branching increased. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) confirm successful chain extension reactions. The orientation of the polymer in the pre-stretch state is such that spherulites deformation along the stretching direction was observed by polarized light optical microscopy (PLOM). The fracture toughness of sample (λfix = 5) is Γ ≈ 106 J m-2 and its critical flaw sensitivity length scale is Γ/Wc ≈ 0.01 m, approximately 5 times higher than PBS without chain-extension (Γ ≈ 2 × 105 J m-2 and Γ/Wc ≈ 0.002 m, respectively). The notch sensitivity of chain-extended PBS is significantly reduced, which is due to the orientation of spherulites more effectively preventing crack propagation. The principle can be generalized to other high toughness material systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of High-Performance Biobased Polyesters)
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Review

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20 pages, 2240 KiB  
Review
Recent Progress on Bio-Based Polyesters Derived from 2,5-Furandicarbonxylic Acid (FDCA)
by Xuan Fei, Jinggang Wang, Xiaoqin Zhang, Zhen Jia, Yanhua Jiang and Xiaoqing Liu
Polymers 2022, 14(3), 625; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14030625 - 6 Feb 2022
Cited by 64 | Viewed by 7456
Abstract
The big challenge today is the upgrading of sustainable materials to replace miscellaneous ones from petroleum resources. Thus, a generic bio-based building block lays the foundation of the huge bio-market to green economy. 2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), a rigid diacid derived from lignocellulose or [...] Read more.
The big challenge today is the upgrading of sustainable materials to replace miscellaneous ones from petroleum resources. Thus, a generic bio-based building block lays the foundation of the huge bio-market to green economy. 2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), a rigid diacid derived from lignocellulose or fructose, represents a great potential as a contender to terephthalic acid (TPA). Recently, studies on the synthesis, modification, and functionalization of bio-based polyesters based on FDCA have attracted widespread attention. To apply furanic polyesters on engineering plastics, packaging materials, electronics, etc., researchers have extended the properties of basic FDCA-based homo-polyesters by directional copolymerization and composite preparation. This review covers the synthesis and performance of polyesters and composites based on FDCA with emphasis bedded on the thermomechanical, crystallization, barrier properties, and biodegradability. Finally, a summary of what has been achieved and the issues waiting to be addressed of FDCA-based polyester materials are suggested. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of High-Performance Biobased Polyesters)
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