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Chemical Recycling of Poly(ethylene furanoate) into Value-added Poly(ethylene-co)-isosorbide furanoate)

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Abstract

We present here a novel strategy for the chemical recycling of bio-based poly(ethylene furanoate)s (PEF) to value-added high-performance bio-based poly(ethylene-co-isosorbide furanoate) (PEIF) copolyesters by the combination of cyclodepolymerization method with rapid cascade polycondensation-coupling ring-opening polymerization (PROP). The solution cyclodepolymerization of commercially available PEF affords cyclic oligo(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate)s (COEFs), and the effects of reaction conditions on the yield of COEFs were studied. PEIF copolyesters with different isosorbide (IS) contents were synthesized via the cascade PROP of COEFs with IS, which show significant enhanced glass transition temperature. By melt spinning, PEIF fibers with different orientation factors were prepared, with excellent thermal stability and mechanical performance. The obtained PEIF fibers can lift a weight ∼25000 times higher than its weight. The PEIF fibers are stable under ambient conditions but are biodegradable following the “surface erosion” mechanism. These sustainable value-added biodegradable PEIF fibers offer a solution to the environmentally friendly fibers.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 22231008 and 22071167) and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China (Nos. 22KJB150011 and 22KJA150005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China

    Jing Li, Sheng Wang, Ying-Jia Lan, Xiao-Hong Li & Ying-Feng Tu

  2. Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Micro and Nano Heat Fluid Flow Technology and Energy Application, School of Physical Science and Technology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, 215009, China

    Huan-Jun Lu

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  1. Jing Li
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  2. Sheng Wang
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  3. Huan-Jun Lu
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Correspondence to Sheng Wang or Ying-Feng Tu.

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Li, J., Wang, S., Lu, HJ. et al. Chemical Recycling of Poly(ethylene furanoate) into Value-added Poly(ethylene-co)-isosorbide furanoate). Chin J Polym Sci 41, 1533–1542 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-023-2996-1

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