Fast Crystallization and Melting Behavior of a Long-Spaced Aliphatic Furandicarboxylate Biobased Polyester, Poly(dodecylene 2,5-furanoate)

Poly(dodecylene 2,5-furanoate) (PDoF) is a novel alipharomatic polyester which was prepared by combining a long chain glycol as the monomer (1,12-dodecamethylene glycol) and 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA), which can be derived from biomass. A variation of the well-known two-step polycondensation method was applied for the preparation of PDoF. The glass transition temperature of this polyester, Which was recorded by using fast scanning calorimetry (FSC) is observed at -5 degrees C. The melting temperature is about 111 degrees C while the equilibrium melting temperature was extrapolated through Hoffman-Week plots to 127.3 +/- 0.2 degrees C. New insights in the complex melting behavior were obtained by employing conventional and temperature modulated calorimetry. The crystallization kinetics in isothermal and nonisothermal modes were investigated by means of Avrami and Lauritzen-Hoffman models and model-free kinetics. The thermal stability of PDoF was reduced in comparison with previously studied furanoates, as a result of the flexible macromolecular chains of the material, while the nucleation density was high and the spherulitic size was small.