Poly(alkylene terephthalate)s: From current developments in synthetic strategies towards applications

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) and poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) are widely known and the mostly studied polymers belonging to the poly(alkylene terephthalate) (PAT) family, but there are many other polymers in this family of which the full potential has not yet been disclosed. Herein, we provide an overview of the state-of-the-art of this specific polyester type. In a first part, the various synthesis methods including melt polycondensation, solution polycondensation and ring-opening polymerisation together with their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. Next, an overview of the polymer properties and a comparison of their thermal and mechanical behaviour are provided. Due to the increasing interest in sustainability (e.g. production of PATs from bio-based monomers) and recycling aspects (e.g. depolymerisation), recent progress on PATs in these particular fields is also highlighted. Currently, PET, PTT and PBT are exploited in many applications while research is striving to broaden their application field.