eXPRESS Polymer Letters Vol.9, No.5 (2015) 424–434
Available online at www.expresspolymlett.com
DOI: 10.3144/expresspolymlett.2015.41
Solution viscosity – molar mass relationships for
poly(butylene succinate) and discussion on molar mass
analysis
Q. Charlier1,2, E. Girard1,2, F. Freyermouth1,2, M. Vandesteene1,2, N. Jacquel3, C. Ladavière1,4,
A. Rousseau1,2, F. Fenouillot1,2*
1
Université de Lyon, F-69003 Lyon, France
INSA-Lyon, Ingénierie des Matériaux Polymères, IMP, CNRS UMR5223, F-69621 Villeurbanne, France
3
Roquette Frères, Division Recherche, F-62080 Lestrem, France
4
Université de Lyon, CNRS UMR5223, IMP@Lyon 1, 15 Boulevard Latarjet, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
2
Received 23 September 2014; accepted in revised form 27 November 2014
Abstract. Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) is currently developing due to its biodegradability and the similarity of its
—
mechanical properties to those of polyolefins. Relationships between the number average molar mass, Mn, and solution vis—
cosity such as [!] and !red were derived for this aliphatic polyester. Mn values were determined by end-group analysis and
size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Mark-Houwink-Sakurada (MHS) parameters were proposed in two solvents and for
the different molar masses and viscosity measurement methods. As an example, the MHS equations were respectively, [!] =
—
6.4·10–4·Mn0.67 in chloroform and [!] = 7.1·10–4·Mn0.69 in 50/50 wt% 1,2-dichlorobenzene/phenol at 25°C for molar masses
measured by SEC in hexafluoro isopropanol (HFIP) with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) standards. Empirical rela—
tionships were also suggested to derive Mn directly from reduced viscosity, !red, which is much easier to determine than
intrinsic viscosity. With these data, the number average molar mass of PBS can be conveniently estimated from a single viscosity measurement. In addition, it was shown that PBS contains 1–2 wt% of cyclic oligomers produced during esterification and that molar masses determined by taking this fraction into account or not were significantly different, especially for
long chains.
Keywords: biopolymers, poly(butylene succinate), molar mass, cyclic oligomers
*
Corresponding author, e-mail: [email protected]
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