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Bouyahya C, Klonos PA, Zamboulis A, Xanthopoulou E, Ainali NM, Majdoub M, Kyritsis A, Bikiaris DN. Preparation and Structural-Thermodynamical Investigation of Renewable Copolyesters Based on Poly (Ethylene Succinate) and Polyisosorbide. Polymers (Basel) 2024; 16:2173. [PMID: 39125197 PMCID: PMC11314190 DOI: 10.3390/polym16152173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2024] [Revised: 07/23/2024] [Accepted: 07/27/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024] Open
Abstract
A series of novel renewable copolymers based on poly(ethylene succinate) (PESu) and poly(isosorbide succinate) (PISSu), with the Isosorbide (Is)/PESu molar ratio varying from 5/95 to 75/25, were synthesized in-situ and studied in this work. A sum of characterization techniques was employed here for the structural and thermo-dynamical characterization. The sophisticated technique of dielectric spectroscopy, along with proper analysis, enabled the molecular dynamics mapping of both the local and segmental types, which is presented for such materials for the first time. With increasing the Is fraction, shorter copolymeric entities were gradually formed. Based on the overall findings, the systems were found to be homogeneous, e.g., exhibiting single glass transitions, with the two polymer segments being found to be excellently distributed. The latter is indirect, although strong, evidence for the successful copolymerization. The thermal degradation mechanism for the copolymers was exhaustingly explored employing analytical pyrolysis. The systems exhibited, in general, good thermal stability, according to the thermogravimetric analysis. Confirming one of the initial scopes for the present systems, isosorbide plays here the role of hardener (PISSu) over the soft polymer (PESu), and this is reflected in the monotonic increase of the glass transition temperature, Tg, from -16 to ~56 °C. The introduction of Is results in an increase in constraints (hardening of the matrix), while there seems to be an overall densification of the polymer (decrease of the free volume).
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaima Bouyahya
- Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece; (C.B.); (A.Z.); (N.M.A.)
- Laboratoire des Interfaces et Matériaux Avancés, Université de Monastir, Monastir 5000, Tunisia;
| | - Panagiotis A. Klonos
- Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece; (C.B.); (A.Z.); (N.M.A.)
- Department of Physics, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 157 80 Athens, Greece;
| | - Alexandra Zamboulis
- Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece; (C.B.); (A.Z.); (N.M.A.)
| | - Eleftheria Xanthopoulou
- Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece; (C.B.); (A.Z.); (N.M.A.)
| | - Nina Maria Ainali
- Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece; (C.B.); (A.Z.); (N.M.A.)
| | - Mustapha Majdoub
- Laboratoire des Interfaces et Matériaux Avancés, Université de Monastir, Monastir 5000, Tunisia;
| | - Apostolos Kyritsis
- Department of Physics, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 157 80 Athens, Greece;
| | - Dimitrios N. Bikiaris
- Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece; (C.B.); (A.Z.); (N.M.A.)
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Makri SP, Klonos PA, Marra G, Karathanasis AZ, Deligkiozi I, Valera MÁ, Mangas A, Nikolaidis N, Terzopoulou Z, Kyritsis A, Bikiaris DN. Structure-property relationships in renewable composites of poly(lactic acid) reinforced by low amounts of micro- and nano-kraft-lignin. SOFT MATTER 2024; 20:5014-5027. [PMID: 38885039 DOI: 10.1039/d4sm00622d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
We investigate the direct and indirect effects of micro- and nano-kraft lignin, kL and NkL, respectively, at a quite low amount of 0.5 wt%, in poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based composites. These renewable composites were prepared via two routes, either simple melt compounding or in situ reactive extrusion. The materials are selected and prepared using targeted methods in order to vary two variables, i.e., the size of kL and the synthetic method, while maintaining constant polymer chain lengths, L-/D-lactide isomer ratio and filler amounts. The direct/indirect effects were respectively investigated in the amorphous/semicrystalline state, as crystallinity plays in general a dominant role in polymers. The investigation involves structural, thermal and molecular mobility aspects. Non-extensive polymer-lignin interactions were recorded here, whereas the presence of the fillers led to both enhancements and suppressions of properties, e.g., glass transition, crystallization, melting temperatures, etc. The local and segmental molecular dynamics map of the said systems was constructed and is shown here for the first time, demonstrating both expected and unexpected trends. An interesting discrepancy between the trends in the calorimetric measurement against the dielectric Tg is revealed, providing indications for 'dynamical heterogeneities' in the composites as compared to neat PLA. The reactive extrusion as compared to compounding-based systems was found to exhibit stronger effects on crystallizability and mobility, most, probably due to the severe enhancement of the chains' diffusion. In general, the effects are more pronounced when employing nano-lignin compared to micro-lignin, which is the expected beneficial behaviour of nanocomposites vs. conventional composites. Interestingly, the variety of these effects can be easily manipulated by the proper selection of the preparation method and/or the thermal treatment under relatively mild conditions. The latter capability is actually desirable for processing and targeted applications and is proved here, once again, as an advantage of biobased polyesters such as PLA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia P Makri
- Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece.
- Creative Nano PC, 43 Tatoiou, Metamorfosi, 14451 Athens, Greece
| | - Panagiotis A Klonos
- Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece.
- Dielectrics Group, Department of Physics, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 15780, Athens, Greece
| | - Giacomo Marra
- AIMPLAS, Asociación de Investigación de Materiales Plásticos Y Conexas, Mechanochemistry & Reactive Extrusion, Carrer de Gustave Eiffel, 4, 46980 Valencia, Spain
| | | | | | - Miguel Ángel Valera
- AIMPLAS, Asociación de Investigación de Materiales Plásticos Y Conexas, Mechanochemistry & Reactive Extrusion, Carrer de Gustave Eiffel, 4, 46980 Valencia, Spain
| | - Ana Mangas
- AIMPLAS, Asociación de Investigación de Materiales Plásticos Y Conexas, Mechanochemistry & Reactive Extrusion, Carrer de Gustave Eiffel, 4, 46980 Valencia, Spain
| | - Nikolaos Nikolaidis
- Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece.
| | - Zoi Terzopoulou
- Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece.
| | - Apostolos Kyritsis
- Dielectrics Group, Department of Physics, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 15780, Athens, Greece
| | - Dimitrios N Bikiaris
- Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece.
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Mastalygina EE, Aleksanyan KV. Recent Approaches to the Plasticization of Poly(lactic Acid) (PLA) (A Review). Polymers (Basel) 2023; 16:87. [PMID: 38201752 PMCID: PMC10781029 DOI: 10.3390/polym16010087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a polyester attracting growing interest every year in different application fields, such as packaging, cosmetics, food, medicine, etc. Despite its significant advantages, it has low elasticity that may hinder further development and a corresponding rise in volume of consumption. This review opens a discussion of basic approaches to PLA plasticization. These considerations include copolymerization and blending with flexible polymers, introducing oligomers and low-molecular additives, as well as structural modification. It was demonstrated that each approach has its advantages, such as simplicity and low cost, but with disadvantages, including complex processing and the need for additional reagents. According to the analysis of different approaches, it was concluded that the optimal option is the application of copolymers as the additives obtained via reactive mixing to PLA and its blends with other polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena E. Mastalygina
- Scientific Laboratory “Advanced Composite Materials and Technologies”, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, 36 Stremyanny Ln., Moscow 117997, Russia
- Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 4 Kosygin St., Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Kristine V. Aleksanyan
- Engineering Center, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, 36 Stremyanny Ln., Moscow 117997, Russia
- Semenov Federal Research Center for Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 4 Kosygin St, Moscow 119991, Russia
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Klonos PA, Bikiaris ND, Zamboulis A, Valera MÁ, Mangas A, Kyritsis A, Terzopoulou Z. Segmental mobility in sustainable copolymers based on poly(lactic acid) blocks built onto poly(butylene succinate) in situ. SOFT MATTER 2023; 19:7846-7858. [PMID: 37811662 DOI: 10.1039/d3sm00980g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Two series of newly synthesized sustainable block copolymers based on poly(butylene succinate) (PBSu) and polylactide (PLA) were studied. The copolymers were synthesized by a ring-opening polymerization of PLA in the presence of two initial PBSu of low molar mass. We focused on the effects of the PBSu/PLA ratio (1/99 up to 15/85), chain length and initial PBSu length on the final thermal transitions in the copolymers with an emphasis on molecular mobility/dynamics and subsequently on crystallization. Both aspects are considered relevant to the final materials performance, as well as facilitation of polymer renewability. Calorimetry and dielectric spectroscopy were the main investigation tools. In the amorphous state (i.e., in which the direct effects of copolymer structure are assessable), the segmental mobility of neat PLA was significantly faster in the copolymers. Segmental mobility was monitored via the decrease in the calorimetric and dielectric (α relaxation) glass-transition temperatures, Tg and Tg,diel, respectively. The effect was systematic with an increase in the PBSu/PLA ratio, and was rationalized through the plasticizing role of PBSu (low-Tg component) and facilitated also by the simultaneous lowering of the chain length in the copolymers. Dielectric spectroscopy allowed evaluation of the dynamical fragility (cooperativity) of chains, which was strongly suppressed in the copolymers. This finding suggested an increase in free volume or a gradual increase of interchain distances. This phenomenon could favor the natural enzymatic degradation of the systems (compostability), which is limited in neat PLA. We recorded enhancement of nucleation and the crystalline fraction in the copolymers that was likely connected with faster chain diffusion. Further lowering of the Tg with the implementation of crystallization was noted (which seemed a controversial effect) but which indicated crystallization-induced phase separation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Panagiotis A Klonos
- Department of Chemistry, Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece.
- Department of Physics, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 15780, Athens, Greece
| | - Nikolaos D Bikiaris
- Department of Chemistry, Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece.
| | - Alexandra Zamboulis
- Department of Chemistry, Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece.
| | - Miguel Ángel Valera
- AIMPLAS, Asociación de Investigación de Materiales Plásticos Y Conexas, Carrer de Gustave Eiffel, 4, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain
| | - Ana Mangas
- AIMPLAS, Asociación de Investigación de Materiales Plásticos Y Conexas, Carrer de Gustave Eiffel, 4, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain
| | - Apostolos Kyritsis
- Department of Physics, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 15780, Athens, Greece
| | - Zoi Terzopoulou
- Department of Chemistry, Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece.
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Matsuno H, Eto R, Fujii M, Totani M, Tanaka K. Effect of segmental motion on hydrolytic degradation of polyglycolide in electro-spun fiber mats. SOFT MATTER 2023; 19:7459-7467. [PMID: 37750204 DOI: 10.1039/d3sm00613a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
Recently, environmentally degradable polymers have received great attention from the perspective of sustaining the aquatic environment. To control the degradation behavior of solid polymer materials in an aqueous phase, it is crucial to better understand the thermal molecular motion of polymer chains in water. We herein focus on polyglycolide (PGA), which is one of the representative aliphatic polyesters that are hydrolytically degradable. Three kinds of fiber mats of PGA with different fiber diameters and comparable crystallinities were prepared using an electrospinning method. Our choice of fiber mats was because the ratio of the surface area, where the hydrolytic degradation starts to occur, to the volume was larger than that for the films. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) enabled us to gain direct access to the dynamic glass transition temperature (Tgα) of PGA in the fiber mats both in dry gaseous nitrogen and liquid water. The Tgα value varied not only with the presence of water molecules, but also with the fiber diameter, or the specific surface area. The degradation behavior of PGA fiber mats was examined by immersing the samples in phosphate-buffered saline at various temperatures. When the segmental motion of PGA in the fiber mats was released, the apparent crystallinity of the mats increased, meaning that PGA amorphous chains were cleaved and thus partially eluted into the aqueous phase. It was also shown that partially cleaved chains crystallized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hisao Matsuno
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan.
- Center for Polymer Interface and Molecular Adhesion Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
| | - Reiki Eto
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan.
| | - Misato Fujii
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan.
| | - Masayasu Totani
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan.
| | - Keiji Tanaka
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan.
- Center for Polymer Interface and Molecular Adhesion Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
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Bouyahya C, Bikiaris ND, Zamboulis A, Kyritsis A, Majdoub M, Klonos PA. Crystallization and molecular mobility in renewable semicrystalline copolymers based on polycaprolactone and polyisosorbide. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:9216-9230. [PMID: 36426754 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm01198k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
A series of novel block copolymers based on two biodegradable polymers, poly(ε-caprolactone), PCL, and poly(isosorbide), PIS, with PIS fractions 5, 10, and 25 wt%, are studied herein. The aim is to assess the effects of the amorphous PIS phase on the properties of the semicrystalline PCL (majority), in addition to the synthesis strategy. The latter involved the polymerization of caprolactone onto initial PIS of low molar mass, resulting, thus, in gradually shorter PCL blocks when the starting amount of PIS is increased. The structure-property relationship investigation, with an emphasis on molecular mobility and crystallization, involves the following sum of complementary techniques: differential scanning calorimetry, dielectric spectroscopy, polarized optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The molecular mobility map for these PCL/PIS and initial PIS is drawn here for the first time. Despite the high glass transition temperature of PIS (Tg ∼ 51 °C) compared to that of PCL (-66 °C), the Tg of the copolymers barely changes, as it is mainly ruled by crystallinity. The latter seems to be facilitated in the copolymers, in both the amount and the rate. The local molecular mobility of PCL and PCL/PIS consists of faster γPCL relaxation which is unaffected in the copolymers, whereas the slower βPCL process arising from the backbone ester group rotation exhibits a systematic deceleration in the presence of PIS. A connection between such local motions and the corresponding segmental α relaxation, observed previously in other polyesters, is also found to be true here. Apart from that, the dielectric Tg as well as the cooperativity of the polymer chains drop moderately, which indicates spatial confinement between the PCL crystals, whereas correlations with the looser lamellar chain packing within the spherulites are gained. The relaxations of initial PIS, i.e., γPIS, βPIS and αPIS, could not be resolved within the copolymers. Along with other properties, such as ionic conductivity, we conclude to the homogeneity of our systems, with sufficient PCL/PIS distribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaima Bouyahya
- Department of Chemistry, Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece.
- Laboratoire des Interfaces et Matériaux Avancés, Université de Monastir, 5000 Monastir, Tunisia.
| | - Nikolaos D Bikiaris
- Department of Chemistry, Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece.
| | - Alexandra Zamboulis
- Department of Chemistry, Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece.
| | - Apostolos Kyritsis
- Department of Physics, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 15780, Athens, Greece
| | - Mustapha Majdoub
- Laboratoire des Interfaces et Matériaux Avancés, Université de Monastir, 5000 Monastir, Tunisia.
| | - Panagiotis A Klonos
- Department of Chemistry, Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece.
- Department of Physics, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 15780, Athens, Greece
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Revisiting Non-Conventional Crystallinity-Induced Effects on Molecular Mobility in Sustainable Diblock Copolymers of Poly(propylene adipate) and Polylactide. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27217449. [PMID: 36364274 PMCID: PMC9655265 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27217449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
This work deals with molecular mobility in renewable block copolymers based on polylactide (PLA) and poly(propylene adipate) (PPAd). In particular, we assess non-trivial effects on the mobility arising from the implementation of crystallization. Differential scanning calorimetry, polarized light microscopy and broadband dielectric spectroscopy were employed in combination for this study. The materials were subjected to various thermal treatments aiming at the manipulation of crystallization, namely, fast and slow cooling, isothermal melt- and cold-crystallization. Subsequently, we evaluated the changes recorded in the overall thermal behavior, semicrystalline morphology and molecular mobility (segmental and local). The molecular dynamics map for neat PPAd is presented here for the first time. Unexpectedly, the glass transition temperature, Tg, in the amorphous state drops upon crystallization by 8–50 K. The drop becomes stronger with the increase in the PPAd fraction. Compared to the amorphous state, crystallization leads to significantly faster segmental dynamics with severely suppressed cooperativity. For the PLA/PPAd copolymers, the effects are systematically stronger in the cold- as compared to the melt-crystallization, whereas the opposite happens for neat PLA. The local βPLA relaxation of PLA was, interestingly, recorded to almost vanish upon crystallization. This suggests that the corresponding molecular groups (carbonyl) are strongly involved and immobilized within the semicrystalline regions. The overall results suggest the involvement of either spatial nanoconfinement imposed on the mobile chains within the inter-crystal amorphous areas and/or a crystallization-driven effect of nanophase separation. The latter phase separation seems to be at the origins of the significant discrepancy recorded between the calorimetric and dielectric recordings on Tg in the copolymers. Once again, compared to more conventional techniques such as calorimetry, dielectric spectroscopy was proved a powerful and quite sensitive tool in recording such effects as well as in providing indirect indications for the polymer chains’ topology.
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Klonos PA, Lazaridou M, Samiotaki C, Kyritsis A, Bikiaris DN. Dielectric and calorimetric study in renewable polymer blends based on poly(ethylene adipate) and poly(lactic acid) with microphase separation. POLYMER 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2022.125329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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