Poly(ethylene terephthalate) copolymers containing nitroterephthalic units. I. Synthesis and characterization

The synthesis, microstructure, and thermal behavior of a series of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) copolymers containing nitroterephthalic units are described. These novel copolyesters were synthesized by transesterification followed by melt copolycondensation of dimethyl terephthalate and dimethyl nitroterephthalate mixtures with ethylene glycol. The molar ratio of the two comonomers in the feed varied from 95/5 to 25/75. Furthermore, PET and poly(ethylene nitroterephthalate) homopolymers were synthesized with the same method and comparatively studied. Copolyester compositions were practically the same as in the feed, and weight‐average molecular weights ranged from 10,000 to 60,000. The two monomeric units were randomly distributed along the polymer chain, and the experimentally determined average sequence lengths were in accordance with ideal copolycondensation statistics. Melting temperatures and enthalpies of the copolyesters decreased with increasing content in nitroterephthalic units, and they all showed a single glass‐transition temperature superior to that of PET. They appeared to be stable up to 300 °C, and thermal degradation occurred in two well‐differentiated steps. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 3761–3770, 2000     

Relationships between the molecular architecture,crystallization capacity,and miscibility in poly(butylene terephthalate)/polycarbonate blends: A comparison with poly(ethylene terephthalate)/polycarbonate blends

Poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT)/polycarbonate (PC) samples, prepared via reactive blending in the presence of Ti‐ and Sm‐based catalysts, resulted in block copolymers whose block length decreased as the mixing time increased. A single homogeneous amorphous phase occurred when the blocks had monomeric sequences shorter than 10 units. Otherwise, a crystalline phase of PBT developed. Also, in poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/PC blends previously studied, the miscibility was strictly correlated with the crystallizability of the system. Therefore, the miscibility of the PBT/PC and PET/PC blends was compared with respect to the tendency of the PBT and PET blocks to crystallize under isothermal conditions. The crystallization rate of the PBT/PC copolymers was faster than that of the PET/PC copolymers with similar block lengths. Accordingly, the minimum crystallizable sequence length of the PBT blocks was shorter than that of the PET blocks (18 vs 31 monomeric unit sequences). This behavior was interpreted as an effect of the more flexible PBT units, which had a greater tendency to fold and crystallize than the PET units. Therefore, PBT, the blocks of which tended to crystallize even if they were very short and phase‐separated, was characterized by a poorer compatibility with PC than that of PET. As a result, the block size had a fundamental role in determining the crystallizability and, therefore, phase behavior of the semicrystalline block copolymers. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2821–2832, 2004     

Degradation mechanism of diethylene glycol units in a terephthalate polymer

Diethylene glycol (DEG) is incorporated into poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) during industrial synthesis in order to control crystallisation kinetics. DEG is known to be a weak point in the thermal degradation of PET, which is problematic during the recycling of the polymer.Studies on the thermal decomposition of the model polymer poly(diethylene glycol terephthalate) (PDEGT) have been performed using TG, DSC, TVA and spectroscopic techniques. They revealed a degradation behaviour with two distinct steps, where the first step initiates some 100 K below the degradation temperature of PET. The second step is similar to the behaviour of PET.Based on our observations, a new degradation mechanism specific to DEG units is proposed, where random ether groups along the backbone can back-bite and form cyclic oligomers. These cyclic species, containing ether moieties, are evolved at 245 °C and constitute the first of the two steps of degradation observed for PDEGT.     

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) copolymers containing 5‐nitroisophthalic units. I. Synthesis and characterization

Poly(ethylene terephthalate‐co‐5‐nitroisophthalate) copolymers, abbreviated as PETNI, were synthesized via a two‐step melt copolycondensation of bis(2‐hydroxyethyl) terephthalate and bis(2‐hydroxyethyl) 5‐nitroisophthalate mixtures with molar ratios of these two comonomers varying from 95/5 to 50/50. Polymerization reactions were carried out at temperatures between 200 and 270 °C in the presence of tetrabutyl titanate as a catalyst. The copolyesters were characterized by solution viscosity, GPC, FTIR, and NMR spectroscopy. They were found to be random copolymers and to have a comonomer composition in accordance with that used in the corresponding feed. The copolyesters became less crystalline and showed a steady decay in the melting temperature as the content in 5‐nitroisophthalic units increased. They all showed glass‐transition temperatures superior to that of PET with the maximum value at 85 °C being observed for the 50/50 composition. PETNI copolyesters appeared stable up to 300 °C and thermal degradation was found to occur in two well‐differentiated steps. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 1934–1942, 2000     

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) copolymers containing 5‐nitroisophthalic units. III. Methanolytic degradation

The methanolysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) copolymers containing 5‐nitroisophthalic units was investigated. Random copolyesters containing 10 and 30 mol % of such units were prepared via a two‐step melt copolycondensation of bis(2‐hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) and bis(2‐hydroxyethyl) 5‐nitroisophthalate (BHENI) in the presence of tetrabutyl titanate as a catalyst. First, the susceptibility of these two comonomers toward methanolysis was evaluated, and their reaction rates were estimated with high‐performance liquid chromatography. BHENI appeared to be much more reactive than both BHET and bis(2‐hydroxyethyl) isophthalate. The methanolysis of PET and the copolyesters was carried out at 100 °C, and the degradation process was followed by changes in the weight and viscosity, gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The copolyesters degraded faster than PET, and the rate of degradation increased with the content of nitrated units. The products resulting from methanolysis were concluded to be dimethyl terephthalate, dimethyl 5‐nitroisophthalate, ethylene glycol, and small, soluble oligomers. For both PET and the copolyesters, an increase in crystallinity was observed during the degradation process, indicating that methanolysis preferentially occurred in the amorphous phase. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 76–87, 2002     

Miscibility and Crystallization in Binary Crystalline Blends of Poly(butylene terephthalate) with Poly(butylene terephthalate-e-caprolactone)

Poly(butylene terephthalate)/poly(butylene terephthalate-e-caprolactone) is a new A/AxB1-x binary crystalline blend with intra-molecular repulsion interaction. Using the mean-field binary interaction model, the value of interaction parameter between the butylene terephthalate and caprolactone structural unit was first reported to be 0.305. This blend exhibited different crystallization behavior from a typical homopolymer/copolymer blend, which was carefully investigated by di?erential scanning calorimetry. It was found that poly(butylene terephthalate-e-caprolactone) copolymers have a great effect on the pure poly(butylene terephthalate) chain mobility and poly(butylene terephthalate) crystalline lattice packing. In the meantime, the crystallization of butylene terephthalate segments in copolymers was restricted by the previously formed poly(butylene terephthalate) crystallites. The two constituents for blending can not form a co-crystal in the range of composition even if they have the same butylene terephthalate unit. It can be concluded that longersegments in a copolymer would be beneficial for the formation of a co-crystal in blends.     

Sequential analysis of polyesters by stepwise chemical degradation: Preparation of degradation products

Model reactions for the sequential analysis of polyesters, especially those of the poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(butylene terephthalate) type, by stepwise chemical degradation were performed. The cyclic degradation products, containing the reagent and an ethylene terephthalate or butylene terephthalate unit, terephthalic acid mono(2-{o{N-<N′-[4-(iminomethyl-) benzoyl-]> 2′-(imino)ethoxycarbonyl-}iminobenzoyl-} oxyalkyl) ester N″-lactams, were deliberately synthesized.     

Poly(butylene terephthalate)‐functionalized MWNTs by in situ ring‐opening polymerization of cyclic butylene terephthalate oligomers

Poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) had been covalently attached onto the surface of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) by a “grafting from” method based on in situ ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of cyclic butylene terephthalate oligomers (CBT) using MWNT‐supported initiator (MWNT‐g‐Sn). The Sn? O bond grafted on the surface of MWNTs, which was confirmed by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, provided the initiating sites for ROP of CBT. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance were used to confirm the chemical structure of MWNT‐graft‐PBT copolymer and emission transmission electron microscope was utilized to observe the nanostructure of the PBT functionalized MWNTs. A distinct core–shell structure with PBT layer as the shell could be observed after functionalization of PBT despite it was not uniform. The results of thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the grafting ratio of PBT was about 59.3%. Furthermore, the solubility of the PBT functionalized MWNTs in phenol/tetrachloroethane had also been investigated. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of copolymer composition of polyestercarbonate on miscibility with poly(butylene terephthalate)

Blends of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) and polyestercarbonate (PEC), copolyesters consisting of polycarbonate (PC) and polyarylate (PAr), have been studied by thermal analysis to determine miscibility. The PBT blends with PAr and PEC containing 30 wt % of carbonate unit or less appeared to be miscible, and the tendency for stable single‐phase was observed to decrease as the content of carbonate unit in PEC copolymer increased. As determined with the crystalline phase behavior, the miscibility of PEC with PBT appeared to have a maximum around 10 ∼ 30 wt % of carbonate content in PEC copolymer, and this result was attributed to the internal repulsion effect between ester and carbonate repeating units in PEC copolymer. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 803–811, 2000     

Segmented block copolymers of poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(ethylene terephthalate)

A new series of segmented copolymers were synthesized from poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) oligomers and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) by a two‐step solution polymerization reaction. PET oligomers were obtained by glycolysis depolymerization. Structural features were defined by infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The copolymer composition was calculated via ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The content of soft PEG segments was higher than that of hard PET segments. A single glass‐transition temperature was detected for all the synthesized segmented copolymers. This observation was found to be independent of the initial PET‐to‐PEG molar ratio. The molar masses of the copolymers were determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4448–4457, 2004     

New super‐tough poly(butylene terephthalate) materials based on compatibilized blends with metallocenic poly(ethylene‐octene) copolymer

New super‐tough poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT)/poly(ethylene‐octene) copolymer (PEO) blends containing 2 wt% poly(ethylene‐co‐glycidyl methacrylate) (EGMA) as a compatibilizer were obtained by extrusion and injection molding. The blends comprised of an amorphous PBT‐rich phase with some miscibilized EGMA, a pure PEO amorphous phase, and a crystalline PBT phase that was not influenced by the presence of either PEO or EGMA. The blends showed a fine particle size up to 20 wt% PEO content. Super‐tough blends were obtained with PEO contents equal to or higher than 10%. The maximum toughness was very high (above 710 J/m) and was attained with 20% PEO without chemical modification of the commercial components used. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) copolymers containing nitroterephthalic units. III. Methanolytic degradation

The methanolytic degradation of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) copolymers containing nitroterephthalic units was investigated. Random poly(ethylene terephthalate‐co‐nitroterephthalate) copolyesters (PETNT) containing 15 and 30 mol % nitrated units were prepared from ethylene glycol and a mixture of dimethyl terephthalate and dimethyl nitroterephthalate. A detailed study of the influence of the nitro group on the methanolytic degradation rate of the nitrated bis(2‐hydroxyethyl) nitroterephthalate (BHENT) model compound in comparison with the nonnitrated bis(2‐hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) model compound was carried out. The kinetics of the methanolysis of BHENT and BHET were evaluated with high‐performance liquid chromatography and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. BHENT appeared to be much more reactive than BHET. The methanolytic degradation of PET and PETNT copolyesters at 80 °C was followed by changes in the weight and viscosity, gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The copolyesters degraded faster than PET, and the degradation increased with the content of nitrated units and occurred preferentially by cleavage of the ester groups placed at the meta position of the nitro group in the nitrated units. For both PET and PETNT copolyesters, an increase in crystallinity accompanied methanolysis. A surface degradation mechanism entailing solubilization of the fragmented polymer and consequent loss of mass was found to operate in the methanolysis of the copolyesters. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 2276–2285, 2002     

Morphology of poly(butylene terephthalate)–poly(ethylene terephthalate‐co‐isophthalate‐co‐sebacate) segmented copolyesters

Segmented copolyesters, namely, poly(butylene terephthalate)–poly(ethylene terephthalate‐co‐isophthalate‐co‐sebacate) (PBT‐PETIS), were synthesized with the melting transesterification processing in vacuo condition involving bulk polyester produced on a large scale (PBT) and ternary amorphous random copolyester (PETIS). Investigations on the morphology of segmented copolyesters were undertaken. The two‐phase morphology model was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. One of the phases was composed of crystallizable PBT, and the other was a homogeneous mixture of PETIS and noncrystallizable PBT. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 2257–2263, 2003     

Effects of comonomer sequential structure on thermal and crystallization behaviors of biodegradable poly(butylene succinate‐co‐butylene terephthalate)s

In this work, new investigations on the effect of comonomer sequential structure on the thermal and crystallization behaviors and biodegradability have been implemented for the biodegradable poly(butylene succinate‐co‐butylene terephthalate) (PBST) as well as aliphatic poly(butylene succinate) (PBS). At first, these copolyesters were efficiently synthesized from dimethyl succinate and/or dimethyl terephthalate and 1,4‐butanediol via condensation polymerization in bulk. Subsequently, their molecular weights and macromolecular chain structures were analyzed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. By means of differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and wide‐angle X‐ray diffractometer (WAXD), thermal and crystallization behaviors of these synthesized aromatic–aliphatic copolyesters were further explored. It was demonstrated that the synthesized copolyesters were revealed to have random comonomer sequential structures with thermal and crystallization properties strongly depending on their comonomer molar compositions, and that crystal lattice structures of the new crystallizable copolyesters shifted from the monoclinic crystal of semicrystalline PBS to triclinic lattice of the poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) with increasing the terephthalate comonomer composition, and the minor comonomer components were suggested to be trapped in the crystallizable component domains as defects. In addition, the enzymatic degradability was also characterized for the copolyesters film samples. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 1635–1644, 2006     

Discrimination of Thermoplastic Polyesters by MALDI-TOF MS and Py-GC/MS

The aim of this work is to discriminate thermoplastic polyester-polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), and polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), which cannot be easily identified by many methods. Both matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) were applied to identify these polyesters owing to their analytical ability to determining polymers' chemical structure. The three thermoplastic polyesters can be easily distinguished by MALDI-TOF MS according to their different repeated units. Py-GC/MS was used to analyze their specific pyrolyzates. The three polyesters can be identified through their characteristic pyrolysis products as well.     

Cyclo-depolymerization of poly(propylene terephthalate): some ring-opening polymerizations of the cyclic oligomers produced

We report the cyclo-depolymerization of poly(propylene terephthalate) to give a mixture of cyclic oligomers in 94% yield, the characterization of the mixture by ¹H-NMR spectroscopy, matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry and gel permeation chromatography. The major cyclic oligomer in the mixture was shown to be the cyclic dimer. It was isolated and its X-ray crystal structure determined. Some entropically-driven ring-opening polymerizations of the cyclic oligomers were carried out. So too were some copolymerizations using mixtures of the cyclic oligomers and those derived similarly from poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(butylene terephthalate). ¹³C-NMR spectroscopic analysis showed that the copolymers were random. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis, structural study and hydrolytic degradation of copolymer based on glycolic acid and bis-2-hydroxyethyl terephthalate

The current demand for environmentally degradable copolymers has initiated the use of novel degradable copolyesters. One of them is a copolyester based on poly(ethylene terephthalate-co-glycolic acid) (PET-GLA). The copolymer was synthesized by the melt reaction of bis-2-hydroxyethyl terephthalate (BHET) with glycolic acid (GLA) oligomers in the presence of Sb₂O₃ as a catalyst.Hydrolytic degradation of the copolymer was carried out in two buffered solutions at 45 °C: degradation was studied by incubating samples in powder form, in a concentrated solution from 30 to 150 days.The copolymer before and after degradation was characterized by means of different analytical techniques. ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy was used to confirm the incorporation of glycolide units in PET chains and to observe the structure and decomposition of the novel polyester. The thermal properties and morphology before and during the degradation were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis for determining melting points as well as melting and decomposition temperatures of investigated copolyester.     

Complete miscibility of ternary aryl polyesters demonstrating a new criterion and horizon for miscibility characterization

A ternary miscible blend system comprising only crystallizable aryl polyesters [poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(trimethylene terephthalate), and poly(butylene terephthalate)] was characterized with the criteria of thermal analyses, microscopy, and X‐ray characterizations. The reported ternary miscibility (in the quenched amorphous state of blends of the three aryl polyesters) was truly physical and under the condition of no chemical transesterifications; this justified that transesterification was not a necessary condition for miscibility in polyester blends in this case. This study further proposed and tested a novel concept of a new criterion for miscibility characterization for polymer blends of only crystallizable polymers. A single composition‐dependent cold‐crystallization‐temperature (T_cc) peak in blends of only semicrystalline polymers was taken as an indication of an intimate mixing state of miscibility. The theoretical background for establishing the single composition‐dependent T_cc peak as a valid miscibility criterion for crystallizable polymer blends was examined. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 2394–2404, 2003     

Copolyesterification between poly(butylene terephthalate), terephthalic acid and hydroquinone diacetate: a kinetic analysis

The kinetics of liquid crystalline copolyester synthesis via melt transesterification between poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT), terephthalic acid (TA) and hydroquinone diacetate (HQDA) is examined. Two different copolyester compositions PBT30/(HQDA+TA) 70 and PBT 50/(HQDA+TA) 50 mol% ratio were synthesized. The ratio of HQDA to TA was kept constant for all the reactions.The copolyesters were synthesized via melt polycondensation route at 265°C, 275°C and 285°C using two different transesterification catalysts, zinc acetate and dibutyl tin oxide. A key postulation assumed in this work is that the reaction originates between TA and HQDA to form a dimer which slices PBT chain. The copolyesterification rate constant for a system containing butylene glycol a more nonpolar moiety compared to ethylene glycol in poly(ethylene terephthalate) has been determined. The activation energy values for the different copolymer systems has also been determined. The rate constants for the uncatalyzed and catalyzed copolyesterification reaction and the activation energy values for the reaction have been determined.     

Study of the thermal evolution of the cyclic‐oligomer formation in a cyclic‐oligomer‐free PET

A low percentage of cyclic oligomers can be found in poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) from its synthesis onward. In this article, a cyclic‐oligomer‐free PET (COFP) obtained by solvent extraction was used to study the thermodynamics of the re‐formation of cyclics from the melt. The cyclic‐oligomer content re‐increased into molten COFP, finally reaching an equilibrium. An analysis of the fraction of the re‐formed cyclic oligomers showed that a majority of cyclic trimer (60–70%) was found at the equilibrium. Before the establishment of the equilibrium, an unusual behavior was observed in the relative proportion of cyclic trimer and tetramer during the first steps of their formation that was probably due to a competition between kinetic and thermodynamic products. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 416–422, 2000