In a first aspect, the present invention relates to a polymer blend, comprising:(i) 1 to 99.9 weight-% of a first polyethylene-like polymer having a repetition unit (I) within its structure [- X ¹ -(CH2)a- X ² -(CH2)b-] (I), wherein X ¹ is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, -O-C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O- group; X ² is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, -O- C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group; a, b are each an integer independently selected from the range from 2 to 200; wherein the first polyethylene-like polymer has in the range of from 89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups; and (ii) 0.1 to 99 weight-% of a second polymer; wherein the sum of the weight-% of (i) and (ii) amounts to 100 weight-%. A second aspect of the invention relates to the use of a polymer blend according to the first aspect as a material, preferably for a consumer article, preferably selected from the group consisting of a cup, a plate, cutlery, a sanitary article, a packaging article, and a film.

The production and processing quantities in the plastics industry have increased almost explosively in the last few decades, with plastics mostly being made from organic materials such as cellulose, coal, natural gas and crude oil. The spectrum of polymers produced is diverse and includes various thermosets and thermoplastics. The thermoplastics include, for example, polyolefins such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene and expanded polystyrene (PS I PS-E). A large group of the plastic in use is made up of polyethylene, which is, due to its mechanical and chemical properties, one of the main materials for plastic packaging and containers.

Due to the constantly rising demand for polymeric materials, there is a need for further, new polymeric materials, which should have the same material properties as the already known materials, especially as polyethylene. Further benefits are also of interest, such as the use or usability of biopolymers as well as the sustainability and or recyclability of the polymeric materials.

In addition, to prevent an accumulation of plastics lost to the environment, degradable polymeric materials with mechanical and chemical properties comparable to their persistent counterparts are highly desirable. Especially the degradability of a polymeric material, at least with external influence and at best under environmental conditions is of major interest.

It was therefore an object of the present invention to provide polymeric materials with the same material properties as the already known materials, which should be, at least to a certain extent, be degradable. 1 ^st aspect- polymer blend

In a first aspect, the invention thus relates to a polymer blend, comprising:

(i) 1 to 99.9 weight-% of a first polyethylene-like polymer having a repetition unit (I) within its structure

[-X ¹ -(CH ₂ )a-X ² -(CH ₂ )b-] (I) wherein

X ¹ is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, -O- C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH ₂ -O-group;

X ² is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, -O- C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH ₂ -O-group; a, b are each an integer independently selected from the range from 2 to 200; wherein the first polyethylene-like polymer has in the range of from 89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups;

(ii) 0.1 to 99 weight-% of a second polymer; wherein the sum of the weight-% of (i) and (ii) amounts to 100 weight-%.

The term "polyethylene-like polymer" is common to those skilled in the art for such polymers - see, for example, Ortmann et al. (P. Ortmann, I. Heckler, S. Mecking, Green Chem., 2014, 16, 1816-1827). The polyethylene-like polymers according to the invention have a solid state structure as in linear high density polyethylene (HDPE), so in particular they have the same wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) as HDPE. Furthermore, the polyethylene-like polymers of the present invention have the same degrees of crystallinity as HDPE, preferably at least 50% of WAXS. For comparison, low density polyethylene (LDPE) has a degree of crystallinity of only about 40% according to the literature (D. Jeremie: Polyethylenes. In Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry Wiley-VCH, 2012).

The range of integers of from 2 to 200 for a, b preferably comprises two ranges, i.e. a, b are each an integer independently selected from a range of from 2 to <8 or from a range of from 8 to 200. Preferably, a, b are independently selected from a range of from 2 to 4 or from a range of from 8 to 200.

Preferably, only one of a and b is an integer selected from the range from 2 to 200, wherein the other of a and b is an integer selected from the range from 8 to 200. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the polymer blend comprises:

(i) 1 to 99.9 weight-% of a first polyethylene-like polymer having a repetition unit (I) within its structure

[-X ¹ -(CH ₂ )a-X ² -(CH ₂ ) _b -] (I) wherein

X ¹ is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, -O- C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH ₂ -O-group;

X ² is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, -O- C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH ₂ -O-group; one of a, b is an integer selected from the range from 2 to 200, wherein the other of a, b is an integer selected from the range from 8 to 200; wherein the first polyethylene-like polymer has in the range of from 89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups;

(ii) 0.1 to 99 weight-% of a second polymer; wherein the sum of the weight-% of (i) and (ii) amounts to 100 weight-%.

Also here, the range of integers of from 2 to 200 for a or b preferably comprises two ranges, i.e. a, b are each an integer independently selected from a range of from a range of from 2 to <8 or from a range of from 8 to 200. Preferably, a, b are independently selected from a range of from 2 to 4 or from a range of from 8 to 200. In some preferred embodiments, only one of a and b is an integer selected from the range of from 2 to 4 or from 8 to 200, wherein the other of a and b is an integer selected from the range from 8 to 200.

Regarding a and/or b, a range from 8 to 200 preferably means a range of from 8 to 50, more preferably a range of from 10 to 50, more preferably a range of from 12 to 50, more preferably a range of from 12 to 40, more preferably a range of from 12 to 35, more preferably a range of from 12 to 30. Preferably, the first polyethylene-like polymer has in the range of from 92 to 98 mol% of methylene groups. The range of from 89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups, as well as the range of from 92 to 98 mol% of methylene groups, for the first polyethylene-like polymer is based on 100 mol% of the repetition unit.

The range of from 1 to 99.9 weight-%, in which the first polyethylene-like polymer (i), which has a repetition unit (I) within its structure, is comprised in the polymer blend preferably comprises two ranges, i.e. a range of from 1 to <95 weight-% or a range of from 95 to 99.9 weight-%. The same applies with respect to range of from 0.1 to 99 weight-%, in which the second polymer (ii) is comprised in the polymer blend, i.e. the range of from 0.1 to 99 weight- % comprises two ranges, that is a range of from 0.1 to <5 weight-% or a range of from 5 to 99 weight-%. The sum of the weight-% of (i) and (ii) in all variants amounts to 100 weight-%.

A polymer blend comprising in the range of from 1 to <5 weight-% of the first polyethylenelike polymer (i) is herein expressis verbis also defined as polymer blend. The same applies for a polymer blend comprising in the range of from 0.1 to <5 weight-% of the second polymer (ii). It goes without saying that polymer blends having in the range of from 5 to 99.9 weight-% of the first polyethylene-like polymer (i) and in the range of from 5 to 99 weight-% of the second polymer (ii) are also polymer blends.

In some preferred embodiments, the polymer blend comprises the first polyethylene-like polymer (i), which has a repetition unit (I) within its structure, in an amount in the range of from 1 to 95 weight-% and the second polymer (ii) in an amount in the range of from 5 to 99 weight-%, wherein the sum of the weight-% of (i) and (ii) amounts to 100 weight-%.

In some embodiments, the polymer blend comprises: (i) 1 to 95 weight-% of a first polyethylene-like polymer having a repetition unit (I) within its structure

[-X ¹ -(CH ₂ )a-X ² -(CH ₂ )b-] (I) wherein

X ¹ is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-O-group, -O- P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH ₂ -O-group;

X ² is selected from the group consisting of -O-C(=O)-group, -O-C(=O)-O-group, -O- P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH ₂ -O-group; a, b are each an integer independently selected from the range from 8 to 200;

(ii) 5 to 99 weight-% of a second polymer; wherein the sum of the weight-% of (i) and (ii) amounts to 100 weight-%.

Surprisingly, it was found that these polymer blends have a solid state structure similar to polyethylene, especially high density polyethylene (HDPE), as reflected by wide angle x-ray scattering, WAXS, which yields identical diffraction patterns for the polymer blends and HDPE, respectively. Furthermore, the blends have good mechanical properties as reflected by an elongation at break in the range of from 95 to 1000 %, and a Young’s modulus in the range of from 100 to 3000 MPa. Furthermore, these polymer blends are degradable, which means in the broadest sense that the polymer blend degrades by exposure to a solvent, preferably by exposure to an alcohol or water or a mixture of alcohol and water at temperatures of at least 60 °C for a duration of at least 2 h, so that a decrease in the number average molecular weight (Mn) of at least one blend component is measurable via GPC or ¹ H-NMR end group analysis or that at least one component is completely removed from the polymer blend. “At least one blend component” means the first polyethylene-like polymer according to (i) or the second polymer according to (ii) or both (i) and (ii).

Herein, the terms “have”, “comprise” or “include” or any grammatical deviations therefrom are used in a non-exclusive manner. Accordingly, these terms can refer to situations in which, besides the features introduced by these terms, no further features are present, or to situations in which one or more further features are present. For example, the term "A has B", “A comprises B" or "A includes B" can refer to the situation in which, apart from B, no further element is present in A (i.e. a situation in which A consists exclusively of B), as well as the situation in which, in addition to B, one or more other elements are present in A, for example element C, elements C and D or even further elements .

Furthermore, it should be noted that the terms “at least one” and “one or more” as well as grammatical modifications of these terms, if these are used in connection with one or more elements or features and are intended to express that the element or feature is provided once or several times can be used, as a rule, only once, for example when the feature or element is introduced for the first time. If the feature or element is subsequently mentioned again, the corresponding term “at least one” or “one or more” is generally no longer used, without this limiting the possibility that the feature or element can be provided once or several times. Furthermore, the terms “preferably”, “in particular”, “for example” or similar terms are used below in connection with optional features, without this limiting alternative embodiments. Features introduced by these terms are optional features, and it is not intended that these features limit the scope of protection of the claims and in particular of the independent claims. Thus, as the person skilled in the art will recognize, the invention can also be carried out using other configurations. In a similar way, features which are introduced by “in an embodiment of the invention” or by “in an exemplary embodiment of the invention” are understood as optional features, without any intention hereby to limit alternative configurations or the scope of protection of the independent claims. Furthermore, these introductory expressions are intended to leave unaffected all possibilities for combining the features introduced herewith with other features, be they optional or non-optional features.

In a preferred embodiment, the repetition unit (I) of the first polyethylene-like polymer is a repetition unit (la): [-X ¹ -(CH2)a- X ² -(CH2)b-]n, wherein X ¹ , X ² and a, b have the meaning as indicated above for repetition unit (I). The index "a" can be the same or different for each of the n repetition units of the repetition unit (la), i.e. with n repetition units, there are a maximum of n different values for the index "a". The same applies for the index "b": “b” can be the same or different for each of the n repetition units of the repetition unit (la), i.e. with n repetition units, there are a maximum of n different values for the index "b". Likewise, "X ¹ " can be the same or different for each of the n repetition units, i.e. each of the n X ¹ groups is independently selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, -O- C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group. Likewise, "X ² " can be the same or different for each of the n repetition units, i.e. each of the n X ² groups is independently selected from the group consisting of-C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, -O-C(=O)-O-group, - O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group. The polyethylene-like polymer preferably has in the range of from 89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups, more preferably in the range of from 92 to 98 mol% of methylene groups. The index “n”, indicated for the repetition unit (la), preferably represents an integer in the range from 4 to 30,000 (89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups in the polymer, Mn in the range from 20,000 to 10,000.000 g/mol), more preferably from the range from 14 up to 23,500 (92 to 98 mol% methylene groups in the polymer, Mn in the range from 20,000 to 10,000,000 g/mol).

Polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit (I) and (la) respectively within their structure, wherein X ¹ and X ² respectively is (for each of the n repetition units) a -C(=O)-O- group or a-O-C(=O)-group are also called polyesters. If X ¹ and X ² are (for each of the n repetition units) a -O-C(=O)-O-group, the polyethylene-like materials are called polycarbonates. If X ¹ , X ² are (for each of the n repetition units) a -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group, the polyethylene-like materials are called poly(H-phosphonate)s, if X ¹ , X ² are (for each of the n repetition units) -O-CH2-O-group, the polyethylene-like materials are called polyacetales.

Polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit (I) and (la) respectively within their structure are bio based materials since they are obtained or obtainable from monomers, which are obtained or obtainable from plant oil or microalgae oil. Plant oil comprises oil from sunflower, oil palm and canola. Long chain unsaturated fatty acids from these plant oils are transformed for example via olefin metathesis, hydrogenation, esterification and reduction into the resulting long chain aliphatic diesters and/or diols. Polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit (I) and (la) respectively, especially wherein X ¹ is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, O-C(=O)-group, and-O-C(=O)-O-group, and X ² is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group and-O-C(=O)-O-group, can be transformed to the underlying monomers by solvolysis. Solvolysis preferably comprises the preparation of an aqueous and/or alcoholic mixture of the polyethylene-like material, followed by heating, preferably under autogenous pressure, to a temperature in the range of from 60 to 250 °C, followed by separation of the monomers from the resulting aqueous and/or alcoholic mixture. The monomers can be recycled, i.e. re-used to prepare polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit (I) and (la) respectively within their structure, preferably in a Closed-Loop-Recycling.

As indicated above, the polymer blend comprises (i) in the range from 1 to 99.999 weight-% of the first polyethylene-like polymer and (ii) in the range from 0.1 to 99 weight-% of the second polymer, wherein the sum of the weight-% of (i) and (ii) amounts to 100 weight-%. Preferably, the polymer blend comprises (i) in the range from 5 to 99.9 weight-% of the first polyethylene-like polymer and (ii) in the range from 0.1 to 95 weight-% of the second polymer; preferably (i) in the range from 20 to 99.9 weight-% of the first polyethylene like polymer and (ii) in the range from 0.1 to 80 weight-% of the second polymer; more preferred (i) in the range from 80 to 99.9 weight-% of the first polyethylene like polymer and (ii) in the range from 0.1 to 20 weight-% of the second polymer; more preferred (i) in the range from 90 to 99.9 weight-% of the first polyethylene like polymer and (ii) in the range from 0.1 to 10 weight-% of the second polymer; wherein the sum of the weight-% of (i) and (ii) amounts to 100 weight-%. In some embodiments, the polymer blend preferably comprises (i) in the range from 5 to 95 weight-% of the first polyethylene-like polymer and (ii) in the range from 5 to 95 weight-% of the second polymer; preferably (i) in the range from 20 to 95 weight-% of the first polyethylene like polymer and (ii) in the range from 5 to 80 weight-% of the second polymer; more preferred (i) in the range from 80 to 95 weight-% of the first polyethylene like polymer and (ii) in the range from 5 to 20 weight-% of the second polymer; more preferred (i) in the range from 80 to 90 weight-% of the first polyethylene like polymer and (ii) in the range from 10 to 20 weight-% of the second polymer; wherein the sum of the weight-% of (i) and (ii) amounts to 100 weight-%.

In preferred embodiments of the polymer blend, the second polymer (ii) is selected from the group consisting of high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), thermoplastic starch (TPS), polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), polybutylene succinate (PBS), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PH A), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit [-Y ¹ -(CH2)c-Y ² -(CH2)d] (II) within their structure, wherein Y ¹ is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)- group -O-C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group, Y ² is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, -O-C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)- O-group and -O-CH2-O-group and c, d are each an integer independently selected from the range from 2 to 200, wherein the polyethylene-like material has in the range of from 89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups, preferably in the range of from 92 to 98 mol% of methylene groups, and mixtures of two or more of these polymers. The range of from 89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups, as well as the range of from 92 to 98 mol% of methylene groups, for the polyethylene-like material is based on 100 mol% of the repetition unit.

In some embodiments of the polymer blend, the second polymer (ii) is selected from the group consisting of high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), thermoplastic starch (TPS), polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), polybutylene succinate (PBS), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PH A), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit [-Y ¹ -(CH2)c-Y ² -(CH2)d] (II) within their structure, wherein Y ¹ is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group -O-C(=O)-O- group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group, Y ² is selected from the group consisting of -O-C(=O)-group, -O-C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group and c, d are each an integer independently selected from the range from 8 to 200, and mixtures of two or more of these polymers.

If the second polymer of (ii) is a polyethylene-like material having a repetition unit (II) in its structure, the repetition unit (II) of the second polymer (ii) is preferably a repetition unit (Ila): [- Y ¹ -(CH ₂ )c-Y ² -(CH ₂ )d]m, wherein Y ¹ , Y ² have the meaning as indicated above for repetition unit (II). The index "c" can be the same or different for each of the m repetition units of the repetition unit (Ila), i.e. with m repetition units, there are a maximum of m different values for the index "c". Likewise, the “index "d" can be the same or different for each of the m repetition units of the repetition unit (Ila), i.e. with m repetition units, there are a maximum of m different values for the index "d". Likewise, "Y ¹ " can be the same or different for each of the m repetition units, i.e. each of the m Y ¹ groups is independently selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, -O-C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group. Likewise, "Y ² " can be the same or different for each of the m repetition units, i.e. each of the m Y ² groups is independently selected from the group consisting of - C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, -O-C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O- group. The polyethylene-like material has preferably in the range of from 89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups, more preferably in the range of from 92 to 98 mol% of methylene groups. The index “m”, indicated for the repetition unit (Ila), preferably represents an integer in the range from 4 to 30,000 (89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups in the polymer, Mn in the range of from 20,000 to 10,000.000 g/mol), more preferably from the range from 14 up to 23,500 (92 to 98 mol% methylene groups in the polymer, Mn in the range of from 20,000 to 10,000,000 g/mol). HDPE has preferably a density in the range of from 0.94 g/cm ³ to 0.97 g/cm ³ , LLDPE has preferably a density in the range of from 0.91 to 0.93 g/cm ³ , LDPE has preferably a density in the range of from 0.86 to 0.93 g/cm ³ . UHMWPE has preferably an average molecular weight Mw in the range of from 1 ,000,000 to 6,000,000 g/mol, and/or a density in the range of from 0.92 to 0.95 g/cm ³ . TPS has preferably an average molecular weight Mw in the range of from 1 ,000 to 1 ,000,000 g/mol. PBAT has preferably an average molecular weight Mw in the range of from 1 ,000 to 1 ,000,000 g/mol, PBS has preferably an average molecular weight Mw in the range of from 1 ,000 to 1 ,000,000 g/mol, PHA has preferably an average molecular weight Mw in the range of from 1 ,000 to 1 ,000,000 g/mol, and PHB has preferably an average molecular weight Mw in the range of from 1 ,000 to 1 ,000,000 g/mol.

Of these polymers, TPS, PBAT, PBS, PHA, and PHB form a specific group since each of these polymers is bio degradable, i.e. each of these polymers decomposes under the action of microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, algae. Water, carbon dioxide and I or methane and optionally certain by-products (residues, new biomass) that are non-toxic for the environment are formed.

Polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit (II) and (Ila) respectively within their structure, wherein Y ¹ is (for each of the m repetition units) a -C(=O)-O-group or a -O-C(=O)- group, and Y ² is (for each of the m repetition units) a-C(=O)-O-group -or a -O-C(=O)-group are also called polyesters. If Y ¹ , Y ² are (for each of the m repetition units) a -O-C(=O)-O- group, the polyethylene-like materials are called polycarbonates. If Y ¹ , Y ² are (for each of the m repetition units) a -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group, the polyethylene-like materials are called poly(H- phosphonate)s, if Y ¹ , Y ² are (for each of the m repetition units) -O-CH2-O-group, the polyethylene-like materials are called polyacetales.

Polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit (II) and (Ila) respectively within their structure are bio based materials since they are obtained or obtainable from monomers, which are obtained or obtainable from plant oil or microalgae oil. Plant oil comprises oil from sunflower, oil palm and canola. Long chain unsaturated fatty acids from these plant oils are transformed via for example olefin metathesis, hydrogenation and esterification into the resulting long chain aliphatic diesters and/or diols. Polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit (II) and (Ila) respectively, especially if Y ¹ is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, and-O-C(=O)-O-group, and Y ² is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, and-O-C(=O)-O-group, can be transformed to the underlying monomers by solvolysis. Solvolysis preferably comprises the preparation of an aqueous and/or alcoholic mixture of the polyethylene-like material, followed by heating to a temperature of > 60 °C, preferably in the range of from 60 to 250 °C, preferably under autogenous pressure, followed by separation of the monomers from the resulting aqueous and/or alcoholic mixture. The monomers can be recycled, i.e. re-used to prepare polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit (II) and (Ila) respectively within their structure, preferably in a Closed-Loop-Recycling. Preferably, the second polymer (ii) of the polymer blend is selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic starch (TPS), polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), polybutylene succinate (PBS), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PH A), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit [-Y ¹ -(CH2)c-Y ² -(CH2)d] (II) within their structure, wherein Y ¹ is selected from the group consisting of -O-C(=O)-group, -O-C(=O)-group, — O-C(=O)-O- group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group, Y ² is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2- O-group and c, d are each an integer independently selected from the range from 2 to 200, wherein the polyethylene-like material has in the range of from 89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups, preferably in the range of from 92 to 98 mol% of methylene groups; and mixtures of two or more of these polymers. More preferred the second polymer (ii) of the polymer blend is selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic starch (TPS), polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), polybutylene succinate (PBS), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit [-Y ¹ -(CH2)c- Y ² -(CH2)d] (II) within its structure, wherein Y ¹ , Y ² are independently selected from the group consisting of -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group, and c, d are each integer independently selected from the range from 2 to 200, wherein the polyethylene-like material has in the range of from 89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups, preferably in the range of from 92 to 98 mol% of methylene groups, and mixtures of two or more of these polymers.

In some embodiments, the second polymer (ii) of the polymer blend is selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic starch (TPS), polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), polybutylene succinate (PBS), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit [-Y ¹ -(CH2)c-Y ² -(CH2)d] (II) within their structure, wherein Y ¹ is selected from the group consisting of -O-C(=O)-group, -O-C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group, Y ² is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O- group and -O-CH2-O-group and c, d are each an integer independently selected from the range from 8 to 200, and mixtures of two or more of these polymers. More preferred the second polymer (ii) of the polymer blend is selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic starch (TPS), polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), polybutylene succinate (PBS), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit [-Y ¹ -(CH2)c-Y ² -(CH2)d] (II) within its structure, wherein Y ¹ , Y ² are independently selected from the group consisting of -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2- O-group, and c, d are each integer independently selected from the range from 8 to 200, and mixtures of two or more of these polymers.

Preferably, the second polymer (ii) of the polymer blend is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit [-Y ¹ -(CH2)c-Y ² -(CH2)d] (II) within its structure, preferably a repetition unit [-Y ¹ -(CH2)c-Y ² -(CH2)d]m (Ha) within its structure, wherein Y ¹ is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, -O-C(=O)-O- group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group, Y ² is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, -O-C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2- O-group and c, d are each an integer independently selected from the range from 2 to 200, wherein the polyethylene-like material has in the range of from 89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups, preferably in the range of from 92 to 98 mol% of methylene groups, and mixtures of two or more of these polymers, preferably wherein Y ¹ ,Y ² are independently selected from the group consisting of -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group, and c, d are each an integer independently selected from the range of from 2 to 200, wherein the polyethylene-like material has in the range of from 89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups, preferably in the range of from 92 to 98 mol% of methylene groups.

In some embodiments, the second polymer (ii) of the polymer blend is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit [-Y ¹ -(CH2)c-Y ² -(CH2)d] (II) within its structure, preferably a repetition unit [-Y ¹ -(CH2)c-Y ² -(CH2)d]m (Ha) within its structure, wherein Y ¹ is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-O- group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group, Y ² is selected from the group consisting - O-C(=O)-group, -O-C(=O)-O-group, -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group and c, d are each an integer independently selected from the range from 8 to 200, and mixtures of two or more of these polymers, preferably wherein Y ¹ ,Y ² are independently selected from the group consisting of -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group, and c,d are each an integer independently selected from the range of from 8 to 200.

Regarding c, d, the same applies as described above with respect to a, b. Thus, the range of integers of from 2 to 200 for c, d preferably comprises two ranges, i.e. c, d are each an integer independently selected from a range of from 2 to <8 or from a range of from 8 to 200. Preferably, c, d are independently selected from a range of from 2 to 4 or from the range of from 8 to 200. In some preferred embodiments, only one of c and d is an integer selected from the range from 2 to 4 or from the range of from 8 to 200, wherein the other of c and d is an integer selected from the range from 8 to 200. Regarding c and/or d, a range from 8 to 200 preferably means a range of from 8 to 50, more preferably a range of from 10 to 50, more preferably a range of from 12 to 50.

If the second polymer of (ii) is a polyethylene-like material having a repetition unit (II), preferably a repetition unit (Ila), within its structure, the second polymer is preferably different from the first polyethylene-like polymer having a repetition unit (I), preferably a repetition unit (la), within its structure. In some embodiments, if the second polymer of (ii) is a polyethylenelike material having a repetition unit (II), preferably a repetition unit (Ila), within its structure, at least a part of the m Y groups of the second polymer of (ii) is different from the n X groups of the first polyethylene-like material of (i).

In some preferred embodiments of the polymer blend, in the first polyethylene-like material of (i) having a repetition unit [-X ¹ -(CH2)a — X ² -(CH2)b-] (I), preferably a repetition unit (la), within its structure, X ¹ is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, and -O-C(=O)-O-group, X ² is selected from the group consisting of-C(=O)-O-group, -O- C(=O)-group and -O-C(=O)-O-group and a, b are each an integer independently selected from the range from 2 to 200, wherein the first polyethylene-like polymer has in the range of from 89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups, preferably in the range of from 92 to 98 mol% of methylene groups, and mixtures of two or more of these polymers.

In some embodiments of the polymer blend, if the first polyethylene-like material of (i) having a repetition unit [-X ¹ -(CH2)a — X ² -(CH2)b-] (I), preferably a repetition unit (la), within its structure, X ¹ is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, and -O-C(=O)-O- group, X ² is selected from the group consisting of -O-C(=O)-group and -O-C(=O)-O-group and a, b are each an integer independently selected from the range from 8 to 200 and mixtures of two or more of these polymers.

In a preferred variant of the polymer blend: the first polyethylene-like material of (i) has a repetition unit [-X ¹ -(CH2)a-X ² -(CH2)b-] (I), preferably a repetition unit (la), within its structure, X ¹ is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group, -and -O-C(=O)-O-group, X ² is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, -O-C(=O)-group and -O-C(=O)-O-group wherein a, b are each an integer independently selected from the range from 2 to 200 and wherein the first polyethylene-like polymer has in the range of from 89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups, preferably in the range of from 92 to 98 mol% of methylene groups; and the second polymer (ii) is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit [-Y ¹ -(CH2)c-Y ² -(CH2)d] (II), preferably a repetition unit (Ila), within its structure, wherein Y ¹ , Y ² are independently selected from the group consisting of O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group, and c, d are each an integer independently selected from the range from 2 to 200 and wherein the polyethylene-like material has in the range of from 89 to 99.5 mol% of methylene groups, preferably in the range of from 92 to 98 mol% of methylene groups; wherein preferably, the polymer blend comprises (i) in the range from 80 to 99.9 weight-% of the first polyethylene like polymer and (ii) in the range from 0.1 to 20 weight-% of the second polymer; more preferred (i) in the range from 80 to 99 weight-% of the first polyethylene like polymer and (ii) in the range from 1 to 20 weight-% of the second polymer; wherein the sum of the weight-% of (i) and (ii) amounts to 100 weight-%.

In some variants of the polymer blend: the first polyethylene-like material of (i) has a repetition unit [-X ¹ -(CH2)a-X ² -(CH2)b-] (I), preferably a repetition unit (la), within its structure, X ¹ is selected from the group consisting of -C(=O)-O-group, and -O-C(=O)-O-group, X ² is selected from the group consisting of -O-C(=O)-group and -O-C(=O)-O-group wherein a, b are each an integer independently selected from the range from 8 to 200; and the second polymer (ii) is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene-like materials having a repetition unit [-Y ¹ -(CH2)c-Y ² -(CH2)d] (II), preferably a repetition unit (Ila), within its structure, wherein Y ¹ , Y ² are independently selected from the group consisting of O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and -O-CH2-O-group, and c, d are each an integer independently selected from the range from 8 to 200; wherein preferably, the polymer blend comprises (i) in the range from 80 to 95 weight-% of the first polyethylene like polymer and (ii) in the range from 5 to 20 weight-% of the second polymer; more preferred (i) in the range from 80 to 90 weight-% of the first polyethylene like polymer and (ii) in the range from 10 to 20 weight-% of the second polymer; wherein the sum of the weight-% of (i) and (ii) amounts to 100 weight-%.

In some embodiments, the polymer blend preferably comprises (i) in the range from 80 to 95 weight-% of the first polyethylene like polymer and (ii) in the range from 5 to 20 weight-% of the second polymer; more preferred (i) in the range from 80 to 90 weight-% of the first polyethylene like polymer and (ii) in the range from 10 to 20 weight-% of the second polymer; wherein the sum of the weight-% of (i) and (ii) amounts to 100 weight-%.

Surprisingly, it was found that the polymer blends of the preferred variant have, as the other polymer blends described herein, mechanical properties similar to polyethylene (specifically linear polyethylene, aka HDPE). Furthermore, the polymer blends of the preferred variant are degradable according to the definition in the broadest sense as given above. Furthermore, the polymer blends of the preferred variant are also degradable under mild conditions, which means that these polymer blends degrade by exposure to water, preferably by exposure to water at a temperature of at least 25 °C for a period of at least 4 weeks, so that a decrease in the number average molecular weight (Mn) of at least one blend component is measurable via GPC or ¹ H-NMR end group analysis or that at least one component is completely removed from the polymer blend. “Measurable via GPC” means that the Mn of at least one blend component after said at least four weeks has decreased by a least 10 %, preferably by at least 15 %, compared to the Mn of said at least one blend component before exposure to water. “Measurable via ¹ H-NMR end group analysis” means that the Mn of at least one blend component after said at least four weeks has decreased by a least 10 %, preferably by at least 15 %, compared to the Mn of said at least one blend component before exposure to water. Without being bound to this theory, it is assumed that the second polymer (ii) of the polymer blends of the preferred variant degrades by hydrolysis, resulting in breaks in the polymer blend.

Preferably, the polymer blend comprises in the range from 0 to 20 further parts by weight of one or more additive, in addition to 100 weight-% of (i) and (ii), preferably one or more additive selected from the group consisting of flame retardant, colorant, filler, fiber and stabilizer.

The polymer blend has preferably an elongation at break determined according to DIN EN ISO 527-2 (June 2012) on a test specimen according to DIN EN ISO 527-2-5A (June 2012) at a time to in the range of from 95 to 1000 %, preferably in the range of from 95 to 500 %. Preferably, the polymer blend has a Young’s modulus determined according to DIN EN ISO 527-2 (June 2012) on a test specimen according to DIN EN ISO 527-2-5A (June 2012) at a time to in the range of from 100 to 3000 MPa, preferably in the range of from 300 to 1200 MPa. Preferably, the polymer blend has a crystallinity determined via WAXS at a time to, preferably determined via WAXS as in Reference Example 1 , in the range of from 50 to 90 %, preferably in the range of from 60 to 85 %, more preferably in the range of from 65 to 85 %. “to is a point in time directly after preparation of the polymer blend.

The polymer blend is preferably prepared by a process comprising melting and solidifying of a mixture comprising (i) and (ii). Preferably, the process comprises mixing of at least (i) and (ii), melting the resulting mixture comprising (i) and (ii) by heating to a temperature equal to or above the melting temperature (Tm) of at least one blend component, wherein at least 90 weight-%, preferably 95 to 100 weight-%, more preferred 99.5 to 100 weight-% of the mixture comprising (i) and (ii) are melted, and solidifying the resulting melt comprising (i) and (ii), preferably by cooling to a temperature below Tm of at least one blend component, to is a point in time directly after the melt comprising (i) and (ii) is solidified, wherein “directly after” means a time span of up to 24 hours after solidification.

2 ^nd aspect - use

A second aspect of the present invention relates to the use of a polymer blend according to the first aspect as a, preferably degradable, material, preferably for a consumer article, preferably selected from the group consisting of a cup, a plate, cutlery, a sanitary article, a packaging article, and a film.

“Degradable” means that the polymer blend, especially the polymer blend comprising a polyethylene like polymer having a repetition unit (I), (la), (II) or (Ila), wherein at least 0.1 % of the n, m repetition units, preferably at least 2 % of the n, m repetition units, have X ¹ , X ² or Y ¹ , Y ² = -O-P(=O)(H)-O-group and/or -O-CH2-O-group, is degradable according to the definition in the broadest sense as given above in the section related to the polymer blend (1st aspect), preferably the polymer blends used according to the second aspect are also degradable under mild conditions in the sense as given above in the section related to the polymer blend (1st aspect).

Details regarding the polymer blend used according to the second aspect are as disclosed above in the section related to the polymer blend itself (1 ^st aspect).

The present invention is further illustrated by the following reference examples, comparative examples, and examples.

EXAMPLES

Reference Example 1 a: Determination of the Crystallinity of polymer blends via WAXS

Wide angle x-ray scattering (WAXS) diffractograms were recorded on a D8 Discover instrument (Bruker) with a Vantec (Bruker) detector. The crystallinities (X AXS) of polymers with orthorhombic and hexagonal crystal phases were determined from the WAXS patterns according to Equitation 1 and 2, respectively:

Eq. 1. XWAXS = [A _c (110)+A _c (200)] / [A _c (110)+Ac(200)+A _a ]

Eq. 2. XWAXS = [A _c (100)] I [A _c (100)+A _a ] where A _c refers to the integrated area of the Bragg reflections from the PE-like crystal and A _a to the amorphous halo. A Voigt or Gaussian fit was used.

Reference Example 1 b: Determination of Molecular Weights

GPC:

Molecular weights of the polymers were determined by high temperature gel permeation chromatography (GPC) in 1 ,2-dichlorobenzene at 160 °C on a Polymer Char GPC-IR instrument, equipped with PSS Polefin Linear XL columns (3 x 30 cm, additional guard column), an infrared detector (IR5 MCT, concentration signal) and a viscosity detector. Molecular weights were determined via universal calibration versus narrow polystyrene standards from PSS Polymer Standards (software: PSS WinGPC, version 8.32).

¹ H-NMR end group analysis of PP-26:

Fig. 19 represents an exemplary excerpt of the ¹ H-NMR spectrum of Poly(H-phosphonate)- 26 (PP-26) prepared according to Reference Example 5 below. Signal (1) represents the “backbone” signal while signal (2) represents the “ethylphosphite endgroup” signal and signal (3) represents the “hydroxyl endgroup” signal. The integrals of the signals were used to determine the Mn according to eq. 3:

¹ H-NMR end group analysis of PE-18,2:

Fig. 20 represents the ¹ H-NMR spectrum of Polyester-18,2 (PE-18,2) prepared according to Reference Example 6 below. Resonance (1 ) represents the “backbone” resonance while resonance (d) represents the “hydroxyl endgroup” resonance. The integrals of the resonances were used to determine the Mn according to eq. 4:

Mn = DPn ■ 340.5 g/mol PE-18,2: Mn = 23.2 kg/mol

The mol% indicated below for the respective polymers are in all cases based on the respective repetition unit being 100 mol%.

Reference Example 2: Synthesis of Polycarbonate-18

In a typical polycondensation experiment for Polycarbonate-18 (PC-18), a three-necked Schlenk tube was charged with 1 ,18-octadecane diol (1 equiv.) and a magnetic stirring bar and was sealed with a silicone septum. After drying the charged Schlenk vessel for at least 1 h at 60 °C in vacuo, it was purged with nitrogen and the condensation extension was connected. In a nitrogen stream, diethyl carbonate (2.5 equiv.) was added and the reaction mixture was heated to 120 °C (stirring at 500 rpm) until a homogenous mixture was obtained. LiH (0.7 mol%) was added to the mixture as a suspension in diethyl carbonate that was prepared in a glove box. Condensation of ethanol typically started after 15 - 45 min. and was continued until no more condensate was observed. A membrane pump was directly connected to the condensation extension instead of the gas bubbler and oligomerization was continued at 120 °C in vacuo (900 mbar to 10 mbar). After this oligomerization, the Schlenk tube was purged with nitrogen, sealed with a glass stopper and then vacuum for polymerization was applied i//athe Schlenk line (~ 1-5 x 10 ² mbar). At this stage the polymer melt was already too viscous to be stirred by the stirring bar and the stirrer was switched off. The polycondensation was continued until the melt with the enclosed stirring bar was not able to flow when turning the Schlenk vessel upside down. The Schlenk vessel was opened in a nitrogen stream by removing the silicone septum and xylene was added at 120 °C. To dissolve the polymer, a steel spatula was used to loosen up the stirring bar and the stirrer was switched on again. Typically, after 30 - 60 min. a homogenous polymer solution was obtained that was poured into -30 °C Z-PrOH. The precipitated solids were removed with tweezers and washed several times in Z-PrOH. After drying overnight in a vacuum oven, the polymers were characterized by NMR, DSC and GPC and used for compounding.

The crystallinity was determined according to Reference Example 1 to be 81 %, the respective WZ\XS diffractogram of PC-18 is shown in Fig. 1. The ¹ H NMR spectrum of PC-18 is shown in Fig. 3, Fig. 4 shows the GPC trace of PC-18. PC-18 had 94.7 mol% of methylene groups.

Reference Example 3: Synthesis of Polyester-18,18

In a typical polycondensation experiment for PE-18,18, a three-necked Schlenk tube was charged with 1 ,18-dimethyl octadecanedioate (1 equiv.), 1 ,18-octadecane diol (1 equiv.) and a magnetic stirring bar and was sealed with a silicone septum. After drying the charged Schlenk tube for at least 1 h at 60 °C in vacuo, it was purged with nitrogen and the condensation extension was connected. After having purged the condensation equipment with nitrogen, [Ti(O ⁿ Bu)4] (0.084 mol%) as a stock solution (0.028M) in toluene was injected through the silicone septum and the reaction mixture was heated to 180 °C (stirring at 350 rpm). Condensation of methanol typically started after 15 - 45 min. and was continued until no more condensate was observed. A membrane pump was directly connected to the condensation extension instead of the gas bubbler and oligomerization was continued at 180 °C in vacuo (900 mbar to 10 mbar). After oligomerization, vacuum for polymerization was applied via the Schlenk line (~ 1 -5 x 10 ² mbar). At this stage the polymer melt was already too viscous to be stirred by the stirring bar and the stirrer was switched off. The polycondensation was continued until the highly viscous melt with the enclosed stirring bar was not able to flow when turning the Schlenk vessel upside down. The Schlenk vessel was opened in a nitrogen stream by removing the silicone septum and xylene was added at 160 °C. To dissolve the polymer, a steel spatula was used to loosen up the stirring bar and the stirrer was switched on again. Typically, after 30 - 60 min. a homogenous polymer solution was obtained that was poured into -30 °C Z-PrOH. The precipitated solids were removed with tweezers and washed several times in acetone. After drying overnight in a vacuum oven, the polymers were characterized by NMR, DSC and GPC and used for compounding.

The crystallinity was determined according to Reference Example 1 to be 80 %, the respective WAXS diffractogram of PE-18,18 is shown in Fig. 2. The ¹ H NMR spectrum of PE- 18,18 is shown in Fig. 5, Fig. 6 shows the GPC trace of PE-18,18. PE-18,18 had 94.4 mol% of methylene groups.

Reference Example 4: Synthesis of Polyacetal-X (X = 6, 12 or 18)

In a typical polycondensation experiment towards polyacetals, a three-necked Schlenk tube was charged with the respective long chain diol (1 equiv.) and a magnetic stirring bar and was sealed with a silicone septum. After drying the charged Schlenk vessel for at least 1 h at 60 °C (C ₁₃ ) or room temperature (C6/12) in vacuo, it was purged with nitrogen and the condensation extension was connected. In a nitrogen stream, diethoxy methane (2.5 equiv.) was added and the reaction mixture was heated to 90 °C (stirring at 500 rpm) until a homogenous mixture was obtained. Bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide (0.025 mol%) was added to the mixture as a solution in diethoxy methane that was prepared in a glove box. The temperature was increased to 120 °C and condensation of ethanol typically started after 15 - 45 min. and was continued until no more condensate was observed. After this oligomerization, the Schlenk tube was purged with nitrogen, sealed with a glass stopper and then vacuum for polymerization was applied via the Schlenk line (~ 1-5 x 10 ² mbar). At this stage the polymer melt was already too viscous to be stirred by the stirring bar and the stirrer was switched off. The polycondensation was continued until the melt with the enclosed stirring bar was not able to flow when turning the Schlenk vessel upside down. The Schlenk vessel was opened in a nitrogen stream by removing the silicone septum and CHCh/NEts was added at 80 °C heating block temperature. To dissolve the polymer, a steel spatula was used to loosen up the stirring bar and the stirrer was switched on again. Typically, after 30 - 60 min. a homogenous polymer solution was obtained that was poured into -30 °C Z-PrOH. The precipitated solids were removed with tweezers and washed several times in Z-PrOH. After drying overnight in a vacuum oven, the polymers were characterized by NMR, DSC and GPC and used for compounding.

The ¹ H NMR spectra of PA-12 and PA-18 are shown in Fig. 9 and Fig. 10, respectively.

PA-6 had 85.7 mol% of methylene groups, PA-12 had 92.3 mol% of methylene groups, PA- 18 had 94.7 mol% of methylene groups.

Reference Example 5: Synthesis of Poly(H-phosphonate)-X (X = 18 or 26)

In a typical polycondensation experiment towards Poly(H-phosphonates), a three-necked Schlenk tube was charged with the respective long chain diol (1 equiv.) and a magnetic stirring bar and was sealed with a silicone septum. After drying the charged Schlenk vessel for at least 1 h at 60 °C in vacuo, it was purged with nitrogen and the condensation extension was connected. In a nitrogen stream, diethyl phosphite (1 .25 equiv.) was added and the reaction mixture was heated to 120 °C (stirring at 500 rpm) until a homogenous mixture was obtained. Li H (1 mol%) was added to the mixture as a solid powder. Condensation of ethanol typically started after 15 - 45 min. and was continued until no more condensate was observed. The temperature was increased to 180 °C and a light vacuum was applied (~ 800 mbar) to assure complete oligomerization. After this oligomerization, the Schlenk tube was purged with nitrogen, sealed with a glass stopper and then vacuum for polymerization was applied via the Schlenk line (~ 1-5 x 10 ² mbar). At this stage the polymer melt was already too viscous to be stirred by the stirring bar and the stirrer was switched off. The polycondensation was continued until the melt with the enclosed stirring bar was not able to flow when turning the Schlenk vessel upside down. Due to the highly hygroscopic and hydrolytically labile nature of the polymer, the resulting melt was removed via spatula and cooled in a nitrogen stream. After collecting the solidified polymer in a Schlenk flask, it was directly transferred to a glove box for storage. The polymer was characterized by NMR and DSC.

The ¹ H and ³¹ P NMR spectra of PP-26 are shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, respectively. Fig. 12 shows the DSC trace of PP-26.

PP-18 had 94.7 mol% of methylene groups, PP-26 had 96.3 mol% of methylene units.

Reference Example 6: Synthesis of Polyester-18,2

In a typical polycondensation experiment for PE-18,2, a three-necked Schlenk tube was charged with 1 ,18-dimethyl octadecanedioate (1 equiv.), ethylene glycol (1.5 equiv.), dibutyltinoxide (0.5 mol%) and a magnetic stirring bar and was sealed with a silicone septum. The Schlenk tube was purged with nitrogen and the condensation extension was connected. After having purged the condensation equipment with nitrogen, the reaction mixture was heated to 160 °C (stirring at 500 rpm). Condensation of methanol typically started after 15 to 45 min. and was continued until no more condensate was observed. A membrane pump was directly connected to the condensation extension instead of the gas bubbler and oligomerization was continued at 160 °C in vacuo (900 mbar to 10 mbar). After oligomerization, vacuum for polymerization was applied via the Schlenk line (about 1-5 x 10- ² mbar). The polycondensation was continued until the highly viscous melt with the enclosed stirring bar was not able to flow when turning the Schlenk vessel upside down. Finally, the reaction mixture was heated to 220 °C to remove residual ethylene glycol. The Schlenk vessel was opened in a nitrogen stream by removing the silicone septum and xylene was added at 160 °C. To dissolve the polymer, a steel spatula was used to loosen up the stirring bar and the stirrer was switched on again. Typically, after 30 - 60 min. a homogenous polymer solution was obtained that was poured into -30 °C Z-PrOH. The precipitated solids were removed with tweezers and washed several times in acetone. After drying overnight in a vacuum oven, the polymers were characterized by NMR, WAXS and DSC and used for compounding.

The crystallinity was determined according to Reference Example 1 to be 54 %, the respective WAXS diffractogram of PE-18,2 is shown in Fig. 22. The ¹ H NMR spectrum of PE- 18,2 is shown in Fig. 20. The DSC curve of PE-18,2 is shown in Fig. 21. PE-18,2 had 90 mol% of methylene units.

Example 1 : Compounding of Polyester-18,18/Poly(H-phosphonate)-26 Blends

Polymer blends of polyester-18,18 (PE-18,18) and poly(H-phosphonate)-26 (PP-26) having a composition as indicated in Table 1 were prepared according to the following procedure:

The main blend component, PE-18,18, was compounded for 20 min at 160 °C and 50 rpm in vacuo using a Xplore MC 5 micro compounder. In the next step, the second blend component, PP-26, was added and the mixture was compounded for additional 10 minutes under the same conditions. The total quantity of polymer fed into the compounder was 4.5 g. Mechanical testing bars according to DIN EN ISO-527-2-5A (June 2012) were prepared using a HAAKE Minijet II (Thermo Scientific) injection molder. The cylinder and mold temperatures were set to 160 °C and 50 °C, respectively. An injection pressure of 500 bar was applied for 15 s followed by a pressure of 350 bar for 5 s. Samples were allowed to equilibrate at room temperature before a stress-strain experiment according to DIN EN ISO- 527-2 (June 2012) (cross-head speed of 5 mm/s) was conducted. Table 1 summarizes the composition of the blends and the respective mechanical properties of the blends.

Table 1

Compositions and mechanical properties of Polyester-18,18/Poly(H-phosphonate)-26 Blends

Fig. 11 shows the WAXS diffractogram of commercial HDPE, pure PE-18,18 and its 2, 5, 10 and 20 weight-% PP-26 blends according to Table 1 . Reflexes corresponded to the orthorhombic unit cell of polyethylene in all cases. Fig. 12 shows the DSC traces of commercial HDPE, pure PP-26, pure PE-18,18 and its 2, 5, 10 and 20 weight-% PP-26 blends according to Table 1. Fig. 13 shows the Stress-strain curves of commercial HDPE, pure PE-18,18 and its 2, 5, 10 and 20 weight-% PP-26 blends according to Table 1.

It was found that the blends had a solid state structure similar to polyethylene, as reflected by wide angle x-ray scattering, WAXS, which yields identical diffraction patterns for the blend and HDPE, respectively. Thus, the blends had a crystallinity determined via WAXS directly after preparation, determined via WAXS as in Reference Example 1 , in the range of from 65 to 85 %. Furthermore, the blends had good mechanical properties as reflected by an elongation at break determined according to DIN EN ISO 527-2 (June 2012) on a test specimen according to DIN EN ISO 527-2-5A (June 2012) directly after preparation in the range of from 95 to 1000 %, and a Young’s modulus determined according to DIN EN ISO 527-2 (June 2012) on a test specimen according to DIN EN ISO 527-2-5A (June 2012) in the range of from 100 to 3000 MPa.

Example 2: PE-18.18/PP-26 Blends - Hydrolytic Degradation Studies

2a: Analysis based on determination of weight change

In order to demonstrate the hydrolytic degradability of the 2, 5, 10 and 20 weight-% PP-26 containing PE-18,18 polymer blends, the samples from Example 1 were weathered under pH-neutral (MilliQ purified water), acidic (0.5 M aqueous H2SO4) and basic (1 M aqueous NaOH) conditions. Uniform blend samples of ca. 85 mg (length x width x thickness = 10 x 7 x 1 mm ³ ), which were cut from injection molded specimen, were placed in 8 ml vials and 5 ml medium was added. The sealed vials containing blend sample and medium were stored in a light-proof peltier-cooled incubator at 25 °C under 200 rpm orbital shaking.

4 months of orbital shaking in purified water resulted in 1 .1 % weight loss for the 20 weight-% PP-26 blend. The weight of the 2, 5 and 10 weight-% PP-26 blends increased by 0.1 - 0.3 weight-% which can be explained by hydrolysis initially not leading to the fragmentation of oligomers and monomers from the bulk material. Pure PE-18,18 showed no change in weight under the same conditions while a sample of pure PP-26 exhibited a weight loss of 11.8 %. All four PE-18,18/PP-26 blends exhibited pronounced embrittlement and opaqueness after 4 months in purified water. Due to the resulting high degree of brittleness of the 10 and 20 weight-% PP-26 containing blends, mechanical stress (as applied during cutting of the samples with a razor blade) directly lead to the fragmentation of the blends into fine particles. Similar results were observed for the blends stored under acidic and basic conditions.

However, under basic conditions (1 M NaOH) fragmentation of the 10 and 20 weight-% PP- 26 containing blend samples took place during the study without the application of mechanical stress.

2b: Analysis based on ¹ H-NMR spectroscopy

In order to demonstrate the hydrolytic degradability of the 2, 5, 10 and 20 weight-% PP-26 containing PE-18,18 polymer blends, the samples from Example 1 were weathered under pH-neutral (MilliQ purified water) conditions. Uniform blend samples of ca. 85 mg (length x width x thickness = 10 x 7 x 1 mm ³ ), which were cut from injection molded specimen, were placed in 8 ml vials and 5 ml medium was added. The sealed vials containing blend sample and medium were stored in a light-proof peltier-cooled incubator at 25 °C under 200 rpm orbital shaking. Before water addition, after 4 months and after 8 months, the decrease of Mn of the PP-26 blend component of the polymer blend was determined by ¹ H-NMR as described in Reference Example 1 b. The results are summarized in Table 2 below.

Table 2

Decrease of Mn of the PP-26 blend component over time as determined by ¹ H-NMR.

Example 3: PE-18.18/PP-26 Blends - Simulation of 6 Months Open-Water Weathering

In order to demonstrate the degradability of the 2, 5, 10 and 20 weight-% PP-26 containing PE-18,18 polymer blends under simulated open-water conditions, blend samples from Example 1 were weathered using an Atlas Suntest CPS+ equipped with a Sunflood immersion unit. The samples were immersed in 35 °C flowing deionized water while being irradiated with artificial sunlight with an irradiation intensity of 30 W/m ² (referred to A = 300 - 400 nm). 166 hours weathering under these conditions correspond to 6 months open-water weathering in Central Europe (Radiation energy in Central Europe: 215 MJ/nr ² y ¹ )-

6 months of simulated open-water weathering resulted in 0.9 % weight loss for the 20 weight- % PP-26 blend. The weight of the 2, 5 and 10 weight-% PP-26 blends increased by 0.1 - 0.6 weight-% which can be explained by hydrolysis initially not leading to the fragmentation of oligomers and monomers from the bulk material. All four blends exhibited pronounced embrittlement and opaqueness after simulated 6 months. Due to the resulting high degree of brittleness of the 5 and 10 weight- % PP-26 containing blends, mechanical stress (as applied during cutting of the samples with a razor blade) directly lead to the fragmentation of the blends into fine particles. The 20 weight-% blend fragmented during the weathering process without the application of mechanical stress.

Fig. 14 shows photographs of the 2, 5, 10 and 20 weight-% PP-26 containing PE-18,18 polymer blends before the open-water weathering (a) and afterwards (b).

Example 4: Compounding of Polycarbonate-18 /Polyacetal-X blends

Polymer blends of Polycarbonate-18 (PC-18) and Polyacetal-X (PA-X) consisting of 80 weight-% PC-18 and 20 weight-% PA-X according to Table 2 were prepared according to the following procedure:

The main blend component, PC-18, was compounded for 20 min at 180 °C and 50 rpm in vacuo using a Xplore MC 5 micro compounder. In the next step, the second blend component, i.e. the respective PA-X (PA-18, PA-12 or PA-6), was added and the mixture was compounded for additional 10 minutes under the same conditions. The total quantity of polymer fed into the compounder was 4.5 g. Mechanical testing bars according to DIN EN ISO-527-2-5A (June 2012) were prepared using a HAAKE Minijet II (Thermo Scientific) injection molder. The cylinder and mold temperatures were set to 180 °C and 30 °C, respectively. An injection pressure of 500 bar was applied for 10 s followed by a pressure of 350 bar for 5 s. Samples were allowed to equilibrate at room temperature before a stressstrain experiment according to DIN EN ISO-527-2 (June 2012) (cross-head speed of 5 mm/s). Table 3 summarizes the composition of the blends and the respective mechanical properties of the blends.

Table 3

Compositions and mechanical properties of Polycarbonate-18/Polyacetal-X-Blends

Fig. 15 shows WAXS diffractograms of commercial HDPE, pure PC-18 and its 20 weight-% PA-12 blend from Example 4. Reflexes correspond to the orthorhombic unit cell of polyethylene in all cases. Fig. 16 shows the DSC traces of PC-18, pure PA-12 and the 80/20 weight-% blend of PC-18 and PA-12 of Example 4 in comparison to commercial HDPE. Fig. 17 shows the stress-strain curves of commercial HDPE, pure PC-18 and its 20 weight-% PA- 12 blend of Example 4. It was found that the blends had a solid state structure similar to polyethylene, as reflected by wide angle x-ray scattering, WAXS, which yielded identical diffraction patterns for the blend and HDPE, respectively. Thus, the blends had a crystallinity determined via WAXS directly after preparation, determined via WAXS as in Reference Example 1 , in the range of from 65 to 85 %. Furthermore, the blends had good mechanical properties as reflected by an elongation at break determined according to DIN EN ISO 527-2 (June 2012) on a test specimen according to DIN EN ISO 527-2-5A (June 2012) directly after preparation in the range of from 95 to 1000 %, and a Young’s modulus determined according to DIN EN ISO 527-2 (June 2012) on a test specimen according to DIN EN ISO 527-2-5A (June 2012) in the range of from 100 to 3000 MPa.

Example 5: Polycarbonate-18 / Polyacetal-X blends - Hydrolytic Degradation Studies

5a: Analysis based on determination of weight change

In order to demonstrate the hydrolytic degradability of the PC-18/PA-12 blends from Example 4, samples were weathered under pH-neutral (MilliQ purified water), acidic (1 M aqueous HOI) and basic (1 M aqueous NaOH) conditions. Uniform blend samples of ca. 85 mg (length x width x thickness = 10 x 7 x 1 mm ³ ), which were cut from injection molded specimen, were placed in 8 mL vials and 5 mL medium was added. The sealed vials containing blend sample and medium were stored in a light-proof peltier-cooled incubator at 25 °C under 200 rpm orbital shaking. A mass loss of 0.2 % could be observed for the 80/20 weight-% PC-18/PA- 12 blend after 8 weeks in MilliQ water at 25 °C.

For better comparability, results in MilliQ water were compared for different PA-X: Blends with 80 weight-% PC-18 and 20 weight-% polyacetals (PA-X) revealed a mass loss of < 0.1 weight-% for PC-18/PA-18, 0.2 weight-% for PC-18/PA-12 and 0.7 weight-% for PC-18/PA-6 after eight weeks of shaking. Accordingly, the mass loss correlates to the spacer length of the long chain diol employed and thus the number of hydrolytically labile acetale groups in the blends. The mass loss of the samples was accompanied by a decreasing molecular weight of the remaining polymers as evidenced by GPC in trichlorobenzene. As an example, despite the low mass loss of < 0.1 weight-% for a PC-18/PA-18 blend that was shaken in MilliQ water for eight weeks, the molecular weight was found to decrease significantly from initial M _n = 34.7 to M _n = 19.8 which clearly demonstrates the hydrolytic scission of the polymer backbone.

5b: Analysis based on GPC analysis

In order to demonstrate the hydrolytic degradability of the PC-18/PA-12 blends from Example 4, samples were weathered under pH-neutral (MilliQ purified water) conditions. Uniform blend samples of ca. 85 mg (length x width x thickness = 10 x 7 x 1 mm ³ ), which were cut from injection molded specimen, were placed in 8 ml vials and 5 ml medium was added. The sealed vials containing blend sample and medium were stored in a light-proof peltier-cooled incubator at 25 °C under 200 rpm orbital shaking. The samples were analysed by GPC as described in Reference Example 1 b before water addition (t = 0), after 1 week and after 8 weeks. The results are shown below in Table 4.

Table 4

Decrease of Mn of the PC-18,18/PA-12 blend over time as determined by GPC.

Example 6: Compounding of high density polyethylene / Polyester-18,18 blends

Polymer blends of high density polyethylene (HDPE; melt flow index of 12 g/10 min measured at 190 °C and 2.16 kg according to DIN EN ISO 1133-1 (March 2012)) and polyester-18,18 (PE-18,18) having a composition as indicated in Table 3 were prepared according to the following procedure:

The polymer mixture (4.5 g) was compounded for 20 min at 180 °C and 50 rpm in vacuo using a Xplore MC 5 micro compounder. Mechanical testing bars according to DIN EN ISO- 527-2-5A (June 2012) were prepared using a Xplore IM 5.5 micro injection molder. The cylinder and mold temperatures were set to 180 °C and 80 °C, respectively. An injection pressure of 16 bar was applied for 10 s followed by a pressure of 12 bar for 15 s. Samples were allowed to equilibrate at room temperature before a stress-strain experiment according to DIN EN ISO-527-2 (June 2012) (cross-head speed of 5 mm/s) was conducted. Table 3 summarizes the composition of the blends and the respective mechanical properties of the blends.

Table 3

Compositions and mechanical properties of HDPE/Polyester-18,18 Blends

Fig. 18 shows the Stress-strain curves of commercial HDPE and its 5 and 20 weight-% PE- 18,18 blends according to Table 3. It was found that the blends had a solid state structure similar to polyethylene, as reflected by wide angle x-ray scattering, WAXS, which yielded identical diffraction patterns for the blend and HDPE, respectively. Thus, the blends had a crystallinity determined via WAXS directly after preparation, determined via WAXS as in Reference Example 1 , in the range of from 65 to 85 %. Furthermore, the blends had good mechanical properties as reflected by an elongation at break determined according to DIN EN ISO 527-2 (June 2012) on a test specimen according to DIN EN ISO 527-2-5A (June 2012) directly after preparation in the range of from 95 to 1000 %, and a Young’s modulus determined according to DIN EN ISO 527-2 (June 2012) on a test specimen according to DIN EN ISO 527-2-5A (June 2012) in the range of from 100 to 3000 MPa.

Example 7: Compounding of Polyester-18,2/Poly(H-phosphonate)-18 Blends

Polymer blends of polyester-18,2 (PE-18,2) and poly(H-phosphonate)-18 (PP-18) having a composition as indicated in Table 4 were prepared according to the following procedure:

The premixed polymer mixture, consisting of PE-18,2 and PP-18, was compounded for 5 min at 160 °C and 50 rpm using a Xplore MC 15 micro compounder. The total quantity of polymer fed into the compounder was 12 g. Mechanical testing bars according to DIN EN ISO-527-2- 5A (June 2012) were prepared using a Xplore IM 5.5 injection molder. The cylinder and mold temperatures were set to 160 °C and 60 °C, respectively. An injection pressure of 16 bar was applied for 10 s followed by a pressure of 12 bar for 15 s. Samples were allowed to equilibrate at room temperature before a stress-strain experiment according to DIN EN ISO- 527-2 (June 2012) (cross-head speed of 5 mm/s) was conducted. Table 4 summarizes the composition of the blends and the respective mechanical properties of the blends.

Table 4

Compositions and mechanical properties of Polyester-18,2/Poly(H-phosphonate)-18 Blends

Fig. 22 shows the WAXS diffractograms of PE-18,2 and its 0.5 and 1 weight-% PP-18 blends according to Table 4. Reflexes correspond to the orthorhombic unit cell of polyethylene in all cases. Fig. 21 shows the DSC traces of PE-18,2 and its 0.5 and 1 weight-% PP-18 blends according to Table 4. Fig. 23 shows the Stress-strain curves of PE-18,2 and its 0.5 and 1 weight-% PP-18 blends according to Table 4. It was found that the blends had a solid state structure similar to polyethylene, as reflected by wide angle x-ray scattering, WAXS, which yielded identical diffraction patterns for the blend and HDPE, respectively. Thus, the blends had a crystallinity determined via WAXS directly after preparation as in Reference Example 1 , in the range of from 50 to 90 %. Furthermore, the blends had good mechanical properties as reflected by an elongation at break determined according to DIN EN ISO 527-2 (June 2012) on a test specimen according to DIN EN ISO 527-2-5A (June 2012) directly after preparation in the range of from 95 to 1000 %, and a Young’s modulus determined according to DIN EN ISO 527-2 (June 2012) on a test specimen according to DIN EN ISO 527-2-5A (June 2012) in the range of from 100 to 3000 MPa.

Cited literature

P. Ortmann, I. Heckler, S. Mecking, Green Chem., 2014, 16, 1816-1827

D. Jeremie: Polyethylenes. In Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry Wiley- VCH, 2012

Description of Figures

Fig 1 shows the WAXS diffractogram of PC-18.

Fig. 2 shows the WAXS diffractogram of PE-18,18.

Fig. 3 shows the ¹ H NMR spectrum of PC-18.

Fig. 4 shows the GPC trace of PC-18.

Fig. 5 shows the ¹ H NMR spectrum of PE-18,18.

Fig. 6 shows the GPC trace of PE-18,18.

Fig. 7 shows the ¹ H NMR spectrum of PP-26.

Fig. 8 shows the ³¹ P NMR spectrum of PP-26.

Fig. 9 shows the ¹ H NMR spectrum of PA-12.

Fig. 10 shows the ¹ H NMR spectrum of PA-18.

Fig. 11 shows the WAXS diffractograms of commercial HDPE, pure PE-18,18 and its 2, 5, 10 and 20 weight-% PP-26 blends of Example 1. Fig. 12 shows the DSC traces of commercial HDPE, pure PP-26, pure PE-18,18 and its 2, 5, 10 and 20 weight-% PP-26 blends of Example 1.

Fig. 13 shows the Stress-strain curves of commercial HDPE, pure PE-18,18 and its 2, 5, 10 and 20 weight-% PP-26 blends of Example 1 .

Fig. 14 shows photographs of the 2, 5, 10 and 20 weight-% PP-26 containing PE-18,18 polymer blends before the simulated open-water weathering (a) and afterwards (b) of Example 3.

Fig. 15 shows the WAXS diffractograms of commercial HDPE, pure PC-18 and a blend having 80 weight-% of PC-18 and 20 weight-% of PA-12 from Example 4.

Fig. 16 shows the DSC traces of PC-18, pure PA-12 and a blend having 80 weight-% of PC- 18 and 20 weight-% of PA-12 from Example 4 in comparison to commercial HDPE.

Fig. 17 shows the stress-strain curves of commercial HDPE, pure PC-18 and a blend having 80 weight-% of PC-18 and 20 weight-% of PA-12 from Example 4.

Fig. 18 shows the stress-strain curves of commercial HDPE and its 5 and 20 weight-% PE- 18,18 blends of Example 6.

Fig. 19 shows an exemplary excerpt of the ¹ H-NMR spectrum of Poly(H-phosphonate)-26.

Fig. 20 shows the 1 H NMR spectrum of PE-18,2.

Fig. 21 shows the DSC traces of PE-18,2 and its 0.5 and 1 weight-% PP-18 blends.

Fig. 22 shows the WAXS diffractograms of PE-18,2 and its 0.5 and 1 weight-% PP-18 blends.

Fig. 23 shows the Stress-strain curves of PE-18,2 and its 0.5 and 1 weight-% PP-18 blends.