Thermal characterization of novel aliphatic polyesters with ether and thioether linkages

Several novel ether or thioether linkage containing aliphatic polyesters and poly(alkylene dicarboxylate)s for comparison were synthesized and characterized in terms of chemical structure and molecular weight. The thermal behavior was examined by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. All the polymers showed a good thermal stability, even though lower for the ether or thioether linkage-containing polyesters. The decrement of the thermal stability appears to be more relevant in the case of presence of sulphur atoms. At room temperature the samples appeared semicrystalline, except PTTDG and PDEDG, which were viscous oils; the effect of the introduction of ether or thioether group was an increment of the T-g value, a decrement of the melting temperature and a significant decrease of the crystallization rate. The entity of the variations was found to be affected by the kind of group introduced, and the trend observed can be explained on the basis of atom electronegativity and dimensions.