The synthesis of poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) consumes carbon dioxide, which forms a promising route to fix greenhouse gas. Developing the applications of PPC could enhance the recycle of carbon dioxide. However, PPC typically has low mechanical strength and thermal stability, and its glass transition temperature (Tg) is low as well, which restrict its use in practice. In this study, we have for the first time found that wool powder (WP) can be an efficient additive to modify PPC. By adding just 2.0wt% wool powder (WP) to PPC, the mechanical properties, glass transition temperature, and thermal decomposition temperature can be improved significantly. PPC containing 2.0wt% WP shows comparable tensile properties to commonly-used polymers such as poly(butylene succinate), polypropylene and high-density polyethylene. We further showed that PPC can form strong interfacial interaction with WP, responsible for the improvement in PPC mechanical properties. Addition of wool powder may offer a promising way to boost the applications of PPC.

The crystallization behavior of poly(ethylene adipate) (PEA) on highly oriented high-density polyethylene (PE) substrate both from solution and isotropic melt was studied by means of optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, atomic force microscopy and electron diffraction. The results show that the PE influences the crystallization of PEA strongly, which results in an epitaxial growth of PEA with well ordered structure. At the boundary of the PE substrate, a transcrystalline PEA layer is observed. Fine structural observation illustrates that the PEA grows on the PE substrate in edgeon lamellae with fixed orientation. Electron diffraction demonstrates that the epitaxial organization of PEA on PE occurs with both polymer chains parallel, which leads to the (00l) PEA diffractions inclined ±23.5° to the chain direction of PE crystals. Combining the real space morphological observation and electron diffraction results, it is concluded that the epitaxial PEA edge-on lamellae are folded in the {00l} lattice planes.