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 ( σ b ) 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 ( σ b ) 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 ( ε b ) 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 O 2 (227 BIFp) and CO 2 (979 BIFp) compared to other pure homo- and copolyesters.