Morphology and degradation behavior of aliphatic/aromatic copolyesters

Random and segmented block copolymers of Poly(tetramethylene succinate) (PTMS) and Poly(tetramethylene terephthalate) (PTMT) were synthesized and characterized regarding sequence distribution and crystalline parameters. Biodegradation behaviors of the copolyesters were examined in activated sludge and enzyme solution in terms of CO2 evolution. It was found that the initial degradation was strongly dependent on the crystallinity in the random copolymer. However, the chemical compositions become a dominant factor at the later stage of degradation. In the case oi block copolymers, the biodegradation rate was most significantly affected by size and degree of perfectness of PTMS crystallites.