Synthesis and characterization of poly(β-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(ε-caprolactone) copolyester by transesterification

C. Chen, Bin Fei, Shuwen Peng, Hang Wu, Yugang Zhuang, Xuesi Chen, Lisong Dong, Zhiliu Feng

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

23 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

To synthesize the copolyester of poly(β-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), the transesterification of PHB and PCL was carried out in the liquid phase with stannous octoate as the catalyzer. The effects of reaction conditions on the transesterification, including catalyzer concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time, were investigated. The results showed that both rising reaction temperature and increasing reaction time were advantageous to the transesterification. The sequence distribution, thermal behavior, and thermal stability of the copolyesters were investigated by13C NMR, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The transesterification of PHB and PCL was confirmed to produce the block copolymers. With an increasing PCL content in the copolyesters, the thermal behavior of the copolyesters changed evidently. However, the introduction of PCL segments into PHB chains did not affect its crystalline structure. Moreover, thermal stability of the copolyesters was little improved in air as compared with that of pure PHB.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1893-1903
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Polymer Science, Part B: Polymer Physics
Volume40
Issue number17
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2002
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Biodegradable
  • Block copolymers
  • Crystallization
  • Poly(β-hydroxybutyrate)
  • Poly(ε-caprolactone)
  • Thermal properties
  • Transesterification

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Polymers and Plastics
  • Materials Chemistry

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