Structure and properties of new biodegradable elastomers composed of poly(ethylene succinate)‐based poly(ether ester)s and poly(lactic acid)

Abstract The green sustainability of the plastic industry always gives impetus to develop the biobased and biodegradable polymers for substituting chemical products. In this study, aliphatic poly(ethylene succinate)‐based poly(ether ester)s (PES‐based PEE) were firstly explored via one pot/two‐component industrial melt polycondensation of succinic acid (SA) and ethylene glycol (EG) in the catalytic combination of titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTP) and methylsulfonic acid (MSA). Their thermal properties and mechanical behavior were analyzed in detail. Based on complementary properties of PES‐based PEEs and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) in the aspect of the flexibility and ductility, the copolymerization of poly(ethylene succinate)‐poly(diethylene glycol succinate) (PES‐PDES) with PLA with low molecular weight was further systematically elaborated and characterized. The results from differential scanning calorimeter showed all the copolymers with different LA contents were amorphous without the melting temperatures. Only one α relaxation revealed by DMA indicated PES‐PDES and PLA segments were random distribution and compatible. The monotonical decrease in glass transition temperatures ( T g s) hinted the mobility enhancement of the copolymers with increasing PES‐PDES contents. All the copolymers PES‐PDES‐PLAs exhibited relatively high thermal degradation temperature with T 5% above 280°C. The mechanical properties and degradable behavior of the copolymers were significantly ameliorated by changing the composition fractions of PES‐PDES and PLA in the architecture.