Modification of poly(propylene carbonate) with chain extender ADR-4368 to improve its thermal, barrier, and mechanical properties

The epoxy group in ADR-4368 reacted with the terminal hydroxyl group in PPC, considerably enhancing its mechanical properties, thermal stability and barrier efficacy to O2 and CO2. With the addition of 1% ADR-4368, the glass transition temperature of PPC was increased from 17 °C to 26.9 °C, while the thermal decomposition temperature (T−5%) of PPC was increased from 177.3 °C to 240.6 °C. Moreover, the tensile strength of the modified PPC was improved from 3.3 MPa to 20.7 MPa.