Simultaneous Thermodynamic Favorable Compatibility and Morphology to Achieve Balanced Physical Properties and Biodegradability in bio-PEF/PGA/PCL Blends

This work involved the preparation of a series of poly(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate)/poly(glycolic acid)/polycaprolactone (PEF/PGA/PCL, referred to as PEF/PGACL) blends and the analysis of their miscibility, mechanical and optical properties, and biodegradability. It was found that the PEF/PGACL blend exhibits good miscibility with respect to the PGA component. Due to the presence of interfacial interaction and toughness PCL components within the PEF/PGACL blend, the tensile must overcome strong interfacial interaction originating from intermolecular interactions, which leads to the PEF/PGACL blend simultaneously maintaining balanced mechanical strength and toughness. The PEF/PGACL blend was, moreover, characterized by high optical transparency and a transmittance of more than ∼65% at a wavelength of 555 nm. In addition, the PEF/PGACL blend exhibited a bulk degradation mechanism, and sponge pores were formed on the surface and inside of the material due to preferential degradation of the PGA component, which was conducive to the further degradation of the internal component.