High thermal resistance amorphous copolyesters synthesized from bio-based 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid

The polyesters with high T-g (>= 100 degrees C) and good clarity are desired in fabricating heat-resistance containers such as baby bottles, cups, medical apparatus, and kitchen appliances. In this work, a series of poly(butylene bis[4-(2-hydroxyethoxy) phenyl] sulfone 1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PBSCFs) that show superior thermal and mechanical properties against current bio-based polyesters were synthesized via a melt polycondensation method. The accurate chemical structures of PBSCFs were confirmed by H-1-NMR and C-13-NMR. The SEC results show that PBSCFs have number averaged molar mass (M-n) in the range of 9700-28,500 g/mol. The T-g of PBSCFs increase from 94 degrees C for PBSF to 108 degrees C for PBSCF-50 as the increasing of CHDM unit. Meanwhile, the ductility of PBSCFs also improved with the elongation at break of PBSCF-40 increased to 223%. In addition, the PBSCF-40 sample reported in this paper shows thermal decomposition temperature of 427 degrees C, transmittance of 84.6%, haze of only 0.17%, tensile strength of 74.1 MPa, and tensile modulus of 2287 MPa.