Biobased composites of poly(butylene furanoate) copolymers and hemp

Abstract There is growing interest in biodegradable and bio‐based materials that can replace conventional plastics applications such as packaging. Polymers based on 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) have been proposed analogues for polymers terephthalic acid. However, they tend to be brittle, exhibit limited biodegradability, there are few examples of biocomposites from these polymers. Described here the preparation a small library copolyesters FDCA, 1,4‐butanediol, either succinic, adipic or sebacic By incorporating different dicarboxylic acids varying ratios, glass transition temperature was tuned −30 41°C melting 104–171°C while maintaining high stability up ~300°C. Incorporation aliphatic facilitated blending copolymers with hemp powder, 30 wt% incorporated into polymer containing 60:40 FDCA:sebacic did not substantially alter thermal properties but increased moduli composites. The were susceptible degradation by Rhizopus oryzae lipase, acid‐containing polyester having higher degradability than succinic polyester. Overall, results demonstrate promise copolyester‐hemp blends where non‐degradable plastics.