The problems of fossil-based resources and pollution caused by traditional nondegradable polymers have led to the need for biobased monomers and polyesters, presenting more environmentally friendly features. 2,5-Tetrahydrofurandimethanol (THFDM), a biobased monomer containing an aliphatic ring structure and an ether group, was introduced into the molecular chain of polybutylene succinate (PBS) as a sustainable unit to optimize its performance and improve its sustainability. The poly(butylene-co-tetrahydrofurandimethylene succinate) (PBTS) copolyesters were synthesized using a melt polycondensation method. The copolyesters exhibited relatively high intrinsic viscosity (1.03−1.71 dL/g). The T g values of PBTS copolyesters increased significantly along with the introduction of THFDM (from −32.2 to −12.9 °C). According to the investigation using WAXD (wide-angle X-ray diffraction) analysis and successive selfnucleating annealing (SSA) measurement, it was revealed that the introduction of THFDM reduced the crystallization ability of PBTS while increasing its crystal content with relatively low lamella thickness. This phenomenon was mainly attributed to the aliphatic rings, which limited the movement and regular stacking of the molecular chains. The degradation rate and toughness of the copolyesters improved due to the decrease of crystallization degree. Meanwhile, the gas barrier property of PBTS slightly decreased but remained at a relatively high level. The permeabilities of O 2 and CO 2 were lower than that of commercially available PBAT. In summary, the introduction of THFDM not only improved the biobased resources content and the sustainability of copolyesters but also improved the toughness and degradation performance without sacrificing gas barrier performance.
A facile method of end-functionalization was used to synthesize a series of fluorescent biodegradable polyesters with tailorable physical properties, which can promisingly be applied in the biomedical field as a controllable and traceable drug delivery system, especially for long-term controlled drug release.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.