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Related Concept Videos

Types of Step-Growth Polymers: Polyesters01:20

Types of Step-Growth Polymers: Polyesters

The introduction of polyesters has brought major development to the textile industry. The wrinkle-free behavior of polyester blends has eliminated the need for starching and ironing clothes.
Polyesters are commonly prepared from terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol; the crude product is known as poly(ethylene terephthalate) or PET. However, polyesters are synthesized industrially by transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol at 150 °C. The two reactants and the polymer...
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Polymer Classification: Architecture

Polymers are classified as linear or branched on the basis of their chain architecture. The polymer chains in linear polymers have a long chain-like structure with minimal to no branching at all. Even if a polymer features large substituent groups on the monomer, which appear as branches to the skeleton, it is not considered a branched polymer. A branched polymer contains secondary polymer chains that arise from the main polymer chain. The branching occurs when the polymer growth shifts from...
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Bioplastics

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Step-growth or condensation polymerization is a stepwise reaction of bi or multifunctional monomers to form long-chain polymers. As all the monomers are reactive, most of the monomers are consumed at the early stages of the reaction to form small chains of reactive oligomers, which then combine to form long polymer chains in the late stages. Hence, the reaction has to proceed for a long time to achieve high molecular weight polymers.
Many natural and synthetic polymers are produced by...
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Polymers

The word polymer is derived from the Greek words “poly” which means “many” and “mer” which means “parts”. Polymers are long chains of molecules composed of repeating units of smaller molecules, known as monomers. They either occur naturally, such as DNA and proteins, or can be constructed synthetically, like plastics. They have varied structural characteristics, such as linear chains, branched chains, or complex networks, that contribute to the properties that they exhibit. Additionally,...

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Designed for Molecular Recycling: A Lignin-Derived Semi-aromatic Biobased Polymer
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Structural evolution in microbial polyesters.

Kyuyoung Heo1, Jinhwan Yoon, Kyeong Sik Jin

  • 1Department of Chemistry, National Research Lab for Polymer Synthesis & Physics, Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, Pohang University of Science & Technology, Pohang 790-784, Republic of Korea.

The Journal of Physical Chemistry. B
|March 28, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Microbial polyesters like poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) undergo primary and secondary crystallization. Copolymers with 3-hydroxyhexanoate (HHx) show smaller lamellar crystals due to HHx exclusion, impacting crystallization behavior.

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Area of Science:

  • Polymer Science
  • Materials Science
  • Biotechnology

Background:

  • Microbially synthesized polyesters, including poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and its copolymers, are biodegradable materials with tunable properties.
  • Understanding the crystallization behavior of these polymers is crucial for optimizing their material characteristics and applications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the crystallization and melting behavior of PHB homopolymer and P(HB-co-HHx) copolymers with varying 3-hydroxyhexanoate (HHx) content.
  • To elucidate the influence of HHx comonomer units on lamellar crystal structure, thickness, and electron density during isothermal crystallization.

Main Methods:

  • Time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to monitor crystallization in situ.
  • Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to analyze thermal properties and melting behavior.
  • Analysis of lamellar crystal thickness, amorphous layer thickness, and electron density.

Main Results:

  • Both PHB and P(HB-co-HHx) copolymers exhibit primary and secondary crystallization.
  • In PHB, lamellar crystal thickness exceeded amorphous layer thickness; HHx exclusion in copolymers led to smaller lamellar crystals and lower electron densities.
  • Secondary crystallization occurred in amorphous regions, forming smaller, less ordered crystals with broader size distribution and lower electron density compared to primary crystals.

Conclusions:

  • The presence of HHx comonomer units significantly alters the crystallization pathway and resulting crystal morphology in PHB-based copolymers.
  • HHx exclusion during crystallization leads to distinct lamellar structures and reduced electron density in copolymers.
  • Secondary crystallization contributes additional crystalline structures with unique characteristics, further influencing the overall material properties.