{
  "abstract": "Polyglycolic acid (PGA) possesses superior mechanical strength but suffers from inherent brittleness, which severely limits its application scope. In this work, we synthesized a high-toughness poly(ε-caprolactone)-based thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to toughen PGA, employing a multifunctional epoxy chain extender (ADR) as a reactive compatibilizer. Melt blending PGA with TPU successfully induced a brittle-to-ductile transition, evolving the phase morphology from a sea-island structure to a co-continuous architecture. While the binary PGA/TPU blend achieved a remarkable notched impact strength of 21.7 kJ m−2 (approximately 7.5 times that of neat PGA), the weak interfacial adhesion resulted in a drastic sacrifice of tensile strength, which plummeted from 131.9 MPa to 37.1 MPa. To overcome this trade-off, ADR was introduced to promote chain extension, branching, and enhanced interfacial interactions during melt blending. Consequently, the representative blend achieved an improved strength–toughness balance, exhibiting a tensile strength of 75.1 MPa and a robust notched impact strength of 16.9 kJ m−2. The combination of high mechanical strength and enhanced impact resistance endows the developed PGA-based blends with considerable potential for advanced load-bearing and impact-resistant polymer components. In particular, these characteristics may enable their use in emerging applications such as compliant structural components, protective elements, and mechanically robust parts for biomimetic robotic systems.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China",
    "Jiangyin Haida Rubber and Plastic Co., Ltd., Wuxi 214423, China"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiuying Zhao",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5867-9736"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zhi Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xin Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Qingsheng Dong"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lin Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jizhu Liang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Dexian Yin",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1172-6918"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/emdsxvgj0wfa9.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/polym18202471",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13709185",
  "id": "emdsxvgj0wfa9",
  "issns": [
    "2073-4360"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/20/2471",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2502|biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221353505",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13709185?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13709185",
  "pmid": "42942591",
  "published": "2026-10-10",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/emdsxvgj0wfa9.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:44Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/polym18202471",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/20/2471"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:22:24Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42942591",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42942591"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2502|biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Reactive Compatibilization of Polyglycolic Acid/Polyurethane Blends for an Improved Strength–Toughness Balance",
  "title_text": "Reactive Compatibilization of Polyglycolic Acid/Polyurethane Blends for an Improved Strength–Toughness Balance",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:22:24Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/emdsxvgj0wfa9",
  "venue": "Polymers",
  "versions": []
}