Logo image
Helical Crystals in Aliphatic Copolyesters: From Chiral Amplification to Mechanical Property Enhancement
Journal article

Helical Crystals in Aliphatic Copolyesters: From Chiral Amplification to Mechanical Property Enhancement

Jing Li, Sheng Wang, Huanjun Lu, Yanyan Tu, Xinhua Wan, Xiaohong Li, Yingfeng Tu and Christopher Y. Li
ACS macro letters, v 12(3), pp 369-375
21 Mar 2023
PMID: 36847524

Abstract

Science & Technology Physical Sciences Polymer Science
We demonstrate herein a bottom-up strategy for achieving helical crystals via chiral amplification in copolyesters by incorporating a small amount of (D)-isosorbide into semicrystalline polyester, poly(ethylene brassylate) (PEB). During bulk crystallization of poly(ethylene-co-isosorbide brassylate)s, the molecular chirality of isosorbide in the amorphous region is transferred to PEB crystal chirality and amplified by the formation of right-handed helical crystals. Increasing isosorbide content or reducing crystallization temperature leads to thinner PEB lamellae crystals, strengthening chiral amplification by forming superhelices with a smaller helical pitch. Moreover, the superhelices with smaller helical pitch (larger chiral amplification) endow aliphatic copolyesters with enhanced modulus, strength, and toughness without sacrificing elongation-at-break. The principle outlined here could apply to the design of strong and tough materials.

Metrics

9 Record Views
15 citations in Scopus

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Polymer Science
Logo image