Poly(1,4-butylene -co-1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) copolyester: Potential bio-based engineering plastic

Poly(1,4-butylene- co -1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PBCFs) was synthesized from bio-based 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), 1,4-butanediol (BDO) and 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM). The GPC showed that the number average molecular weight ( M n ) of PBCFs were in the range of 38400–44200 g/mol and the average molecular weight ( M w ) varied from 83,000 to 94,800 g/mol with the polydispersity index of 2.22–2.33. The chemical structures, compositions and sequence distributions of PBCFs were confirmed by 1 H NMR and 13 C NMR. Their thermal properties and crystallization behavior were investigated by Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). Results showed that the glass transition temperature ( T g ) and melting temperature ( T m ) of poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PBF) were increased from 38 and 171.8 °C to 65.8 and 211.7 °C for PBCF-68, respectively. Furthermore, the strength and modulus were increased from 44 and 950 MPa for PBF to 69 and 1360 MPa for PBCF-68 with the mole percentage of CHDM units of 68% in diol units. PBCFs demonstrated much better thermo-mechanical properties when compared with those of PBF, which might be used as the bio-based engineering plastic or excellent packaging materials with high transparency and good gas barrier properties.