Recent Progress on Sustainable 2,5-Furandicarboxylate-Based Polyesters: Properties and Applications

Polyesters based on 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (2,5-FDCA) have attracted attention from both academia and industry as a new class of biobased polymers for the growing era of plastics. 2,5-FDCA-based polyesters are 100% renewable, and they are an alternative to petroleum-based or terephthalic acid (TPA)-based polyesters. Moreover, scientists and plastics experts have recognized bioplastics as an eco-friendly solution to developing cost-effective renewable plastics. The growth of the bioplastics market depends on a sustainable economy, population growth, and rapid changes in different polymers. Although a variety of auxiliaries have been practically used in recent years, the production of bioplastics from 2,5-FDCA monomers by oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a relatively innovative field of research. This review focuses on the properties and applications of 2,5-FDCA-based polyesters in the packaging and coating industries for producing biobased postconsumer products. The manufacturability, excellent (thermal, mechanical, and barrier) features, and applications in various fields of available 2,5-FDCA-based homo- and copolyesters are discussed. Biobased 2,5-FDCA pure homo- and copolyesters have recently progressed with exceptional properties for their counterparts petroleum-based polyesters. In particular, the mechanical performance of 2,5-FDCA-based pure homopolyesters such as poly(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PEF) and poly(propylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PPF) has the highest tensile strength (σb) values of 84.07 ± 4.43 and 90 ± 6 MPa, respectively, compared with other homopolyesters. On the other hand, 2,5-FDCA-based neat copolyesters like poly(ethylene 2,5-thiophenedicarboxylate) (PETF) and poly(ethylene-co-1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PECF) had maximum tensile strength (σb) values of 97–98 and 59–75 MPa, respectively, compared to other copolyesters. In addition, we also compared and observed the highest Young's modulus (E) values of pure PEF (5248 ± 328 MPa) and pure PPF (2460 ± 280 MPa) homopolyesters and of neat PETF (3100–3300 MPa) and neat PECF (1740–2300 MPa) copolyesters. Furthermore, the elongation at break (εb) values of pure poly(decylene furandicarboxylate) (PDF) (986 ± 82%) and pure poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PBF) (368 ± 43%) homopolyesters and neat poly(pentylene furandicarboxylate) (PPeF) (1050 ± 200%) and neat poly(1,4-butanediol 2,5-thiophenedicarboxylate) (PBTF) (900 ± 84%) copolyesters had the highest values compared to other pure homo- and copolyesters. Finally, the results of the barrier improvement factor (BIFp) study showed that neat PPeF copolyesters had the highest values of O2 (227 BIFp) and CO2 (979 BIFp) compared to other pure homo- and copolyesters.