Lactone polymers. VIII. Dynamic mechanical properties of ϵ-caprolactone and γ-(tert-butyl)-ϵ-caprolactone copolymers

The temperature dependencies of dynamic mechanical properties have been determined with a torsional pendulum for copolymers of ?-caprolactone and γ-(tert-butyl)-?-caprolactone over the entire composition range. Copolymers containing at least 25 mol % (33 wt %) of γ-(tert-butyl)-?-caprolactone units are amorphous in nature. The experimentally obtained glass transition temperatures of the copolymers and poly(γ-(tert-butyl)-?-caprolactone) were used to calculate the glass transition temperature of amorphous of poly(?-caprolactone) according to the Fox relation. This value of ?70°C is in excellent agreement with values obtained from similar calculations based on compatible blends of poly(?-caprolactone) with other homopolymers.