A new biodegradable CO2-based poly(ester-co-carbonate): Molecular chain building up with crosslinkable domain

Poly(propylene carbonate phthalate) (PPC-P) is a new biodegradable polymer which displays improved thermal and mechanical properties compared with poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC). However, PPC-P suffers from low melt viscosity at high temperature, restraining its applications in foaming and blowing materials. To address this issue, crosslinkable PPC-P is designed and synthesized by introducing vinyl moieties into PPC-P backbone. Later, the crosslinking conditions are optimized and the influences on the crosslinking density is investigated. The crosslinked PPC-P possesses tailorable melt flow rates, basically unchanged thermal properties and improved tensile performances as well as satisfactory transparency, laying a foundation for PPC-P to be applied as foaming and blowing materials.