Study on Structure and Crystallinity of A New Biodegradable Aliphatic-Aromatic Copolyester

A series of biodegradable aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters, poly(butylene terephthalate-co-butylene adipate-co- ethylene terephthalate-co-ethylene adipate) (PBATE), were synthesized from terephthalic acid (PTA), adipic acid (AA), 1,4-butanediol (BG) and ethylene glycol (EG) through direct esterification and polycondensation. The sequence structure and crystallinity of the copolyester were investigated by 1H NMR spectroscopy and the wide-angle X-ray diffractometry (WAXD). The analytical results showed that the PBATE copolyester was a random copolymer and the composition of PBATE copolyester was almost consistent with the feed molar ratios. The crystal structure of PBATE copolyester belonged to the triclinic crystalline system; The variation in melting point of the synthesized PBATE copolyester agreed well with the estimation obtained by the Flory equation and was applicable to the random copolymer.