Hydrogen bonding interaction and crystallization behavior of poly (butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate)/thiodiphenol complexes

The poly (butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate) (PBSA)/thiodiphenol (TDP) complexes were prepared by melt blending. Intermolecular hydrogen bonding between carbonyl group of PBSA and hydroxyl group of TDP formed as verified by a combination FTIR and peak fitting technique. As a result, the crystallization temperature, melting temperature, crystallinity and crystallization rate of PBSA decreased with addition of TDP, implying impeded crystallization and reduced lamellar thickness. On the basis of Lauritzen–Hoffman analysis, the fold surface energy (σe) and work of chain folding (q) were increased by TDP incorporation. POM observation exhibited concentric ring-banded spherulites for samples with 10 and 20 wt% TDP. A peculiar ring-banded pattern with discrepant band spacing was obtained for the first time by addition of 30 wt% TDP, whose formation mechanism remains to be discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.