Poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) is among the least studied biodegradable polyesters, where its high crystallinity and low extensibility had limited its wide- spread application for packaging. In this work, we designed a series of thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) and vulcanizates (TPVs) based on PBS and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) with a focus on its modulus ( \(\:E\) ) and elongation at break ( \(\:{\epsilon\:}_{b}\) ). The TPEs showed poor mechanical performance and using dicumyl peroxide (DCP), applied directly (D) and as a masterbatch with EVA (M), resulted in superior mechanical performance with the TPV based on the PBS: EVA composition of 90: 10-D showing the highest \(\:{\epsilon\:}_{b}\) of 637.6% compared to the \(\:{\epsilon\:}_{b}\) of 108.1% for PBS. The \(\:E\) value of the TPV was 139.1 MPa compared to 353.2 MPa for PBS, which was due to the presence of EVA rubber. However, presence of 2% cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) increased \(\:E\) to 225.9 MPa with the \(\:{\epsilon\:}_{b}\) of 463%. Both PBS and the optimal TPVs showed high shape fixity even at 25°C due to its high crystallinity, while the TPVs and especially, the TPV- CNC (2.0%) showed higher recovery ratios caused by formation of an elastic 3D network of both the cured EVA droplets and CNCs.
