The thermal shrinkage of the drawing poly(ethylene isophthalate terephthalate) copolyester films

The objective of this study is to use the copolymerization method to improve the thermal shrinkage property of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), so that the resultant copolyester can be used for the application of thermal shrinkage packing materials. The poly(ethylene isophthalate terephthalate) (PEIT) copolyester films were prepared and studied. The thermal shrinkage rate of PET films and the thermal shrinkage rate of the copolyester films were measured by using a thermomechanical analyzer (TMA). The thermal shrinkage of copolyester was found to be dependent on such factors as composition, molecular weight, and draw temperature. The highest thermal shrinkage was obtained when the copolymer contained 40 mol % of ethylene isophthalate. Its shrinkage ratio and shrinkage rate were consistently 1.3 and 2.4 times those of PET. The increase of molecular weight and decrease of drawing temperature resulted in the increase of the thermal shrinkage. The best drawing temperature range was between glass transition temperature and soft temperature of the copolymer. The relationship of shrinkage rate and temperature indicate that the shrinkage mechanism of the copolyester belongs to two‐step thermal shrinkage.