ABSTRACT Poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) is a widely used engineering polyester, but its petroleum‐derived monomers conflict with current efforts to reduce reliance on fossil feedstocks. Poly(trimethylene 2,5‐furandicarboxylate) (PTF), a fully bio‐based analogue with properties comparable to PTT, is a promising alternative, yet the impact of chemical modifications such as copolymerization remains poorly explored. This work combines mathematical modeling with experimental characterization to predict and validate key thermal and structural properties of bio‐based polyesters and copolyesters. This study underlined the successful synthesis of two series of bio‐based copolymers, i.e. poly(trimethylene terephthalate‐co‐trimethylene glutarate) PTT‐co‐PTG and poly(trimethylene 2,5‐furandicarboxylate‐co‐trimethylene glutarate) (PTF‐co‐PTG) via melt polycondensation. The chemical structure and composition of the copolymers were confirmed with the use of 1 H NMR spectroscopy. Limiting viscosity numbers (LVNs) ranging from 0.643 to 0.759 dL/g were obtained, indicating that the desired values were achieved. The influence of the incorporation of PTG units on thermal properties and morphology was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). There were no significant differences in thermal stability and activation energy between the homopolymer and the corresponding copolymers.
Walkowiak et al. (Thu,) studied this question.