Preparation and characterization of biodegradable poly(butylene succinate)(PBS) foams

Abstract

In order to obtain crosslinked poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) foams with a closed-cell structure, a commercial-grade PBS was first modified in the melt using two different branching agents to increase the melt viscosity. The rheological properties of the branched and crosslinked PBS were examined by varying the amount of the branching agents. The complex viscosity of the crosslinked PBS increased with increasing amount of the branching agent. However, it decreased with increasing frequency. When 2 phr of the branching agent was added to PBS, the storage modulus (G') was higher than the loss modulus (G") throughout the entire frequency range, showing that the addition of a branching agent increases the melt viscosity and elasticity of PBS effectively. Closed-cell PBS foams were prepared by mixing the chemical blowing agent with the crosslinked PBS. The effect of the foaming conditions such as temperature and time, and the amount of the crosssslinking agent on the structure of the expanded PBS foams were also investigated.

Structure/Property Relationships of Partially Crosslinked Poly(butylene succinate)

“…PBS is known as a crosslinkable polyester 9–18. The molecular weight increases and an insoluble fraction, gel, is formed when it is crosslinked.…”

“…Furthermore, it was found that PBS was more reactive than PHB or PHBV with DCP in terms of gel formation. Lim et al16 added two types of polyisocyanates as branching agents into PBS matrix to increase the viscosity and finally prepared PBS foams. Jin et al17 reported the crosslinking of unsaturated PBS (copolymerized with maleic acid) by using benzoyl peroxide (BPO) and multi‐functional co‐agent.…”

Synthetic Aliphatic Biodegradable Poly(Butylene Succinate)/MWNT Nanocomposite Foams and Their Physical Characteristics

“…Among them, biodegradable aliphatic polyester type polymers, i.e., poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), PLA, poly(3-hydroxybutyrae) (PHB), and poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), have recently been the focus of much attention. [29][30][31][32] However, they lack price competitiveness and a practically acceptable level of processability, due to their relatively poor physical properties. Therefore, the incorporation of nanoscale fillers into biodegradable aliphatic polyesters has been studied by many research groups with the aim of enhancing the physical properties of the polyesters.…”

“…are deficient in various end-use applications. [32] In this study, three different nanocomposite fabrication approaches, solution blending, melt mixing, and the SOAM method, [36,37] were applied to compare the degree of dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) in the PBS domain. Herein, we have focused Downloaded by [University of California Santa Cruz] at 16:18 02 November 2014 on the SOAM method because it can achieve a much better MWNTs dispersion by meltmixing the nanocomposite prepared by solution blending, under a strong shear force.…”

Preparation of Enhanced Poly(butylene succinate) Foams

“…It is well known that aliphatic polyesters are environmental friendly and biodegradable polymers . Due to the vulnerable ester group in the main chain, the aliphatic polyesters can be decomposed rapidly into carbon dioxide, water, methane, and humus when they are exposed to microorganisms , water, alkali, or acid under appropriate conditions. Among the aliphatic polyesters, poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) exhibits excellent biodegradability, melt processability, thermal, and chemical resistance, and mechanical properties, which is similar to PP and PE .…”