Novel copolyesters based on poly(alkylene dicarboxylate)s: 1. Thermal behavior and biodegradation of aliphatic-aromatic random copolymers

In order to improve the thermal and mechanical properties of the poly(butylene 1,12-dodecanedioate), some novel aliphatic-aromatic random copolyesters have been prepared by starting from 1,4-butanediol and different molar ratio of 1,12-dodecanedioc acid and terephthalic acid. The samples were characterized by H-1 NMR and the molecular structure was correlated with the crystalline phase present, the level of crystallinity, the glass transition temperature, the mechanical behavior, and the biodegradability. In particular, the copolymer containing the 70 mol% of PBT repeating units notably improves the thermal and mechanical properties of the poly(butylene 1,12-dodecanedioate) towards those of PBT and maintains a very high thermal stability, but loses the biodegradability of the poly(alkylene dicarboxylate). Therefore, for this class of aliphatic-aromatic copolymers the chemical composition must be carefully chosen to reach a compromise between good thermal and mechanical performances and biodegradability, according to the necessity. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.