Synthesis and characterization of bio

Aliphatic poly(butylene succinate-co-10-hydroxydecanoate)s (PBHs) with various compositions were synthesized from 1,4-butanediol, succinic acid, and 10-hydroxydecanoic acid (HDA) by esterification and polycondensation with tetrabutyl titanate as catalyst. Gel permeation chromatography and proton nuclear magnetic resonance analysis indicate that the molecular weight of PBHs is in the range of 24,947–45,921 g/mol with a relatively narrow polydispersity index at 1.76–2.09. The influence of block length on the properties of copolyesters was investigated. With the increase of HDA unit content, melting point, crystallization temperature, and tensile modulus of PBHs decrease, while the thermal stability and toughness enhanced significantly. In addition, PBHs keep relatively stable in phosphate buffer solution (pH = 7.4) and HCl solution (0.1 mol/L), but 22% weight was lost after 30 days in NaOH solution (0.1 mol/L). Furthermore, the degradation rate of PBHs in NaOH solution (0.1 mol/L) accelerates monotonically with increasing HDA content