Improved polymerization and depolymerization kinetics of poly(ethylene terephthalate) by co-polymerization with 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid
Anup S. Joshi, Niloofar Alipourasiabi, Keerthi Vinnakota, Maria R. Coleman, Joseph G. Lawrence
Abstract
alkaline hydrolysis) of the copolyester PETF. NMR spectroscopy and titrimetric studies revealed that copolymerization of PET with different levels of FDCA improved the esterification reaction kinetics by enhancing the solubility of monomers. During the alkaline hydrolysis, the presence of FDCA units in the backbone almost doubled the PET conversion and monomer yield. Based on these findings, it is demonstrated that the FDCA facilitates the esterification, as well as depolymerization of PET, and potentially enables reduction of reaction temperatures or shortened reaction times to improve the carbon footprint of the PET synthesis and depolymerization process.