Blend Miscibility of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) and Aromatic Polyesters from Salicylic Acid
Hee Joong Kim, Xiayu Peng, Youngsu Shin, Marc A. Hillmyer, Christopher J. Ellison
Abstract
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is one of the most prevalent polymers in the world due to its combined thermal, mechanical, and gas barrier attributes. Blending PET with other polymers is an appealing strategy to further tailor properties to meet the needs of an even more diverse range of applications. Most blends with PET are macrophase-separated; only a few miscible systems have been reported. Here, the miscibility of the aromatic polyesters poly(salicylic glycolide) (PSG) and poly(salicylic methyl glycolide) (PSMG) with PET is described. Both PSG and PSMG have similar chemical structures to PET but are derived from sustainable resources and readily degradable. This study suggests that they are fully miscible with PET over the entire composition range, which is attributed to favorable interactions with PET. Negative polymer-polymer interaction parameters (χ) were determined using Flory-Huggins theory to describe melting temperature variations in the blends. In addition, the PET blends showed mechanical properties that are intermediate between the two homopolymers.