X-ray diffraction of the crystallinity of glycolysates derived from PET

Glycolysates coming from the chemical recycling of PET scraps are most often very crystalline compounds making them difficult to perform in further reactions like step growth polyaddition with diisocyanates to obtain polyurethanes. The glycolysis of PET was investigated using unusual reagents: polyesters based oligomers, bisphenol A, cycloaliphatic alcohol and aliphatic diols. The thermal properties of the glycolysates obtained were compared in terms of crystallinity with that of coming from the glycolysis with DEG. The crystallinity extents were calculated using X-ray diffraction. Surprisingly, the crystalline or non-crystalline nature of the reactants do not predict the morphology of the final glycolysates. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.