Biodegradable Polyesters From Monomer to Application

Geert-Jan Graulus, Thomas Billiet, Sandra Van Vlierberghe, Hugo Thienpont, Heidi Ottevaere, and Peter Dubruel  

Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 (building S4), B-9000 Ghent, Belgium Brussels Photonics Team, Department of Applied Physics and Photxrnics, 

Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Plelnlaan 2, B-1050 Elsene, Belgium 

Over the past years, plastics have gathered a rather bad reputation as they are able to resist degradation and therefore accumulate in the environment [1]. The fact that most of these plastic materials are derived from fossil natural sources has contributed significantly to these environmental issues since plastics are generally labelled unsustainable . Additionally, their low cost of production renders them easily disposable, resulting in high amounts of plastic waste being discarded annually. 

Despite these shortcomings, it is hard to imagine our modern society without polymers. To overcome the negative view on 

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