Ether linkage in poly(1,2-propylene carbonate), a key structure factor to tune its performances

Abstract

As an alternating copolymer of CO 2 and propylene oxide, poly(1,2-propylene carbonate) (PPC) should be composed of fully carbonate structure, whereas it generally contains certain ether linkage due to the existence of competitive formation of ether linkage by consecutive epoxide enchainment. Though the ether linkage was not always the dominant structure in PPC, a new understanding was provided in that the ether linkage was crucial structure factor on the PPC performances, especially for oxygen barrier property, transparency, thermal and mechanical properties. The gas barrier properties and transparency of PPC film became worse with increasing ether linkages, the oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide permeability of PPC with ether linkage of 0.6 % were 14 cm 3 /m 2 /24 h/0.1 MPa, 11 cm 3 /m 2 /24 h/ 0.1 MPa and 220 cm 3 /m 2 /24 h/0.1 MPa, respectively, while for PPC with ether linkage of 54.1 %, they became 116 cm 3 / m 2 /24 h/0.1 MPa, 108 cm 3 /m 2 /24 h/0.1 MPa and 599 cm 3 / m 2 /24 h/0.1 MPa, respectively. When the ether linkage in PPC increased from 0.6 % to 54.1 %, the thermal decomposition temperature at 5 wt% loss(T d-5% ) increased from 218.6°C to 241.0°C, while the glass-transition temperature (T g ) decreased from 45.2°C to 11.1°C, meanwhile, the room temperature tensile strength decreased from 55.4 MPa to 2.3 MPa, and the elongation at break increased from 8.5 % to 1558.2 %.

CO2-fixation into cyclic and polymeric carbonates: principles and applications

“…tensile modulus, ultimate strength and tear resistance) of poly( propylene carbonate) are comparable yet slightly better than those of low-density polyethylene, whereas the permeability to oxygen and water is remarkably lower. 267,454 The excellent barrier properties for oxygen and water also creates potential for poly( propylene carbonate)s to be used as barrier adhesive in oxygen-and waterresistant materials. 255,455 In contrast, poly(limonene carbonate) possesses very high gas permeability, which, combined with its relatively good mechanical properties, transparency and thermal insulation properties, renders it potentially suitable for application as "breathing glass" in energy-efficient buildings or in greenhouses, providing passive ventilation through these windows and thereby eliminating the need for additional ventilation systems.…”

Synthesis and properties of carbon dioxide based copolymers

“…剂 [35] , 用于二氧化碳与环氧丙烷的共聚反应时其催化 活性达到60 kg/g催化剂 [36] . 随后我们利用聚丙二醇 (PPG)多元醇为链转移剂, 合成了低分子量二氧化碳 基多元醇(数均分子量为2000 g/mol), 二氧化碳含量为 10 wt%~30 wt%, 多元醇选择性超过92%, 活性达到 1.2 kg多元醇/g催化剂 [37,38] . 但需要大幅度牺牲催化剂 20 min, 远低于三聚丙二醇(TPG)体系的400 min [39] .…”

Catalytic Chain Transfer Copolymerization of Propylene Oxide and CO2 using Zinc Glutarate Catalyst

“…poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC), is of particular interest as the copolymerization reaction is spontaneous and a number of epoxides can readily be made available on a larger scale. Some of the resulting materials exhibit properties such as biodegradability and biocompatibility, have noticeable gas barrier properties, and can be relatively low in price . A combination of these properties make these PACs predestined materials for short‐term applications, e. g .…”

“…The material properties of the copolymers depend significantly on the polymer composition with respect to the ratio of carbonate to ether‐linkages and their distribution. The polymer composition does not only affect the chain rigidity and thermal stability, but also properties such as gas permeability and is hence a key factor in the synthesis of tailored materials.…”