A series of novel copolyesters based on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and 4'-hydroxy-biphenyl-4-carboxylic acid (HBCA) was obtained by melt polycondensation of bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate and 4'-acetoxybiphenyl-4-carboxylic acid (ABCA) as co-monomers with Sb2O3 as a catalyst. Using this synthetic procedure, a set of copolymers containing 20-80 mol% of HBCA units was prepared. According to NMR spectroscopy, the copolymers were of random composition. Copolyesters comprising 60-80 mol% of HBCA possessed increased heat resistance and formed nematic melts at 270 °C and higher. The liquid crystal (LC) phase formation was accompanied by transition to non-Newtonian characteristics of the melt flow, as well as an equalization of storage and loss moduli values. According to XRD and polarizing microscopy, the LC glassy phase of the copolyesters coexists with crystalline regions of poly-(4'-hydroxy-4-biphenylcarboxylate), non-melting up to 400 °C and above. The mechanical characteristics of these LC copolyesters showed similar or better values than those of well-known LC polymers. These novel copolyesters can be useful in obtaining heat-resistant materials with an ordered structure and, as a consequence, improved performance.
Keywords: PET; liquid crystalline state; melt polycondensation; polarizing microscopy; thermal behavior; thermotropic copolyesters; viscoelasticity.