UV-Blocking Synthetic Biopolymer from Biomass-Based Bifuran Diester and Ethylene Glycol

Tuomo P. Kainulainen, Juho A. Sirviö, Jatin Sethi, Terttu I. Hukka, Juha P. Heiskanen

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    60 Citations (Scopus)
    21 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    A furan-based synthetic biopolymer composed of a bifuran monomer and ethylene glycol was synthesized through melt polycondensation, and the resulting polyester was found to have promising thermal and mechanical properties. The bifuran monomer, dimethyl 2,2′-bifuran-5,5′-dicarboxylate, was prepared using a palladium-catalyzed, phosphine ligand-free direct coupling protocol. A titanium-catalyzed polycondensation procedure was found effective at polymerizing the bifuran monomer with ethylene glycol. The prepared bifuran polyester exhibited several intriguing properties including high tensile modulus. In addition, the bifuran monomer furnished the polyester with a relatively high glass transition temperature. Films prepared from the new polyester also had excellent oxygen and water barrier properties, which were found to be superior to those of poly(ethylene terephthalate). Moreover, the novel polyester also has good ultraviolet radiation blocking properties.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1822-1829
    Number of pages8
    JournalMacromolecules
    Volume51
    Issue number5
    Early online date21 Feb 2018
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 21 Feb 2018
    Publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

    Keywords

    • Biopolymers
    • Synthesis
    • Characterization
    • Thermal analysis
    • Spectroscopy

    Publication forum classification

    • Publication forum level 2

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Chemistry
    • General Materials Science

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