Synthesis, properties and thermal behavior of poly(decylene-2,5-furanoate): a biobased polyester from 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid

Abstract

In the present study, an interesting, eco-friendly polyester, poly(decylene-2,5-furanoate) (PDeF) was synthesized from 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid with a variation of the well-known two-step melt polycondensation method. The crystallization and melting behavior of PDeF, was evaluated with different calorimetric methods; conventional, fast and temperature modulated scanning calorimetry. The results showed that PDeF is a fast crystallizing polyester, with a glass transition close to 1 °C and an equilibrium melting temperature equal to 129.8 °C. Various crystallization temperatures and rates were employed in order to evaluate in detail the thermal characteristics of PDeF. Isothermal and non-isothermal crystallization kinetics were also investigated by means of Avrami, Lauritzen–Hoffman theories and model-free kinetics. The structural features of PDeF were also studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) while the size and density of spherulites was observed by polarized optical microscopy (POM) after crystallization in a wide range of temperatures. Finally, from tensile testing it was realized that PDeF has similar mechanical properties like tensile strength and Young's modulus to that of low density polyethylene (LDPE).