Hexagonal and Orthorhombic Crystal Formations in Ethylene Glycol-Based Long-Spaced Aliphatic Polyesters Driven by Layer Packing of Proximate Ester Groups

Abstract

Long-spaced aliphatic polyesters are typical sustainable polyethylene (PE)-like polymers. However, the presence of a low amount of ester groups can exert a profound effect on the crystalline structure of such PE-like polymers. Herein, we synthesized a series of long-spaced aliphatic polyesters bearing two proximate ester groups from ethylene glycol (EG) and n-methylene diacids (n = 9–18) and investigated their polymorphic crystallization and phase transitions. We find that the EG-based polyesters exhibit unique crystal polymorphism and phase transition behaviors. They can form a metastable hexagonal phase (form II) with nontilted, extended chain conformations at low temperatures or during rapid cooling but adopt the thermally stable orthorhombic phase (form I) with tilted chain packing at high temperatures or under slow cooling. Form I demonstrates a more densely packed chain structure and displays distinct mechanical properties compared to form II. The metastable hexagonal phase can transform into an orthorhombic phase during heating through a melt-recrystallization mechanism. This study advances the current understanding of the multiphase crystallization of PE-like long-spaced polyesters.