Thermal and Thermo-Oxidative Degradation of Biodegradable Poly(Ester Urethane) Containing Poly(L-Lactic Acid) and Poly(Butylene Succinate) Blocks

Abstract

A novel biodegradable poly(ester urethane; PEU) was synthesized by chain extension reaction of dihydroxylated poly(L-lactic acid; PLLA) and poly(butylene succinate; PBS) using diisocyanate as a chain extender. The kinetics of thermal and thermo-oxidative degradation of PEU containing PLLA and PBS blocks were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). TGA results indicated that PEU was more stable in air than in nitrogen and went through a two-stage degradation process irrespective of the experimental atmosphere. Activation energy of each stage was calculated by means of Kissinger, Kim-Park, Friedman, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa, and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose methods. For the first stage, the activation energy value obtained in air was slightly higher than the corresponding value obtained in nitrogen; and for the second stage, the activation energy showed a much higher value in air than in nitrogen. The Coats-Redfern method was employed to study the degradation mechanism of each stage. The results indicated that the degradation of the first stage follows the P3/4 mechanism irrespective of the experimental atmosphere; the degradation of the second stage of PEU obeys the P1 mechanism in nitrogen while P3/2 in air.

Keywords:

• activation energy
• degradation mechanism
• poly(ester-urethane)
• thermal degradation
• thermo-oxidative degradation

Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (No. 50525309).