Synthesis and Characterization of In-Situ-Prepared Nanocomposites Based on Poly(Propylene 2,5-Furan Dicarboxylate) and Aluminosilicate Clays

Lazaros Papadopoulos; Zoi Terzopoulou; Dimitrios N Bikiaris; Dimitra Patsiaoura; Kostantinos Chrissafis; Dimitrios G Papageorgiou; George Z Papageorgiou

doi:10.3390/polym10090937

Synthesis and Characterization of In-Situ-Prepared Nanocomposites Based on Poly(Propylene 2,5-Furan Dicarboxylate) and Aluminosilicate Clays

Polymers (Basel). 2018 Aug 23;10(9):937. doi: 10.3390/polym10090937.

Authors

Lazaros Papadopoulos¹, Zoi Terzopoulou², Dimitrios N Bikiaris³, Dimitra Patsiaoura⁴, Kostantinos Chrissafis⁵, Dimitrios G Papageorgiou⁶, George Z Papageorgiou⁷

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece. lazaros.geo.papadopoulos@gmail.com.
² Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece. terzozoi@chem.auth.gr.
³ Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece. dbic@chem.auth.gr.
⁴ Solid State Physics Section, Physics Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece. dpatsi@physics.auth.gr.
⁵ Solid State Physics Section, Physics Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece. hrisafis@physics.auth.gr.
⁶ School of Materials and National Graphene Institute, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK. dimitrios.papageorgiou@manchester.ac.uk.
⁷ Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, P.O. Box 1186, GR-45110 Ioannina, Greece. gzpap@cc.uoi.gr.

Abstract

Poly(propylene 2,5-furan dicarboxylate) (PPF), or poly(trimethylene 2,5-furan dicarboxylate) (PTF), is a biobased alipharomatic polyester that is expected to replace its fossil-based terephthalate (PPT) and naphthate (PPN) homologues. PPF possesses exceptional gas barrier properties, but its slow crystallization rate might affect its success in specific applications in the future. Therefore, a series of PPF based nanocomposites with the nanoclays Cloisite^®-Na (MMT), Cloisite^®-20A (MMT 20A), and halloysite nanotubes (HNT) were synthesized via the in situ transterification and polycondensation method. The effect of the nanoclays on the structure, thermal, and crystallization properties of PPF was studied with several methods including infrared spectroscopy (IR), Nuclear Resonance Spectroscopy (¹H-NMR), Wide Angle X-ray Diffraction (WAXD), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The insertion of the nanofillers in the polymer matrix altered the crystallization rates, and TGA results showed good thermal stability, since no significant mass loss occurred up to 300 °C. Finally, the degradation mechanism was studied in depth with Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy, and it was found that β-scission is the dominant degradation mechanism.

Keywords: aluminosilicate clays; biobased polyesters; nanocomposites; poly(propylene 2,5-furan dicarboxylate).