WHAT IS PGA​​

 

Polyglycolic acid (PGA) stands out as one of the most structurally efficient polymers ever engineered.

 

Built from the smallest possible aliphatic polyester repeat unit, it packs exceptional crystallinity and chain regularity into a remarkably compact structure. That combination gives PGA a very high tensile strength, a high modulus, outstanding gas barrier performance and a melting point around 220~230 °C.

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At the same time, the ester linkage in every repeat unit makes PGA highly susceptible to hydrolysis, so it degrades rapidly and steadily in moisture rich environments, independent of salinity or chloride level. ​​The hydrolysis degradation yields water and carbon dioxide eventually, leaving no harmful residues in the environment. 

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PGA’s performances vary considerably between low and very high molecular weight forms. To fully realize PGA’s potential, both polymerization process and downstream melt processing operations must be precisely controlled and free of defects.​ Tekma brings strong expertise in both areas.

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There are two types of PGA according to its molecular chain structure- linear PGA and branched PGA.  Compared with linear PGA, Branched PGA demonstrates higher toughness, slightly faster degradation and slightly lower tensile strength.  

 

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