Ring-opening polymerization of 1,5-dioxepan-2-one initiated by a cyclic tin–alkoxide initiator in different solvents

Ring-opening polymerization of 1,5-dioxepan-2-one initiated by 1,1,6,6-tetra-n-butyl-1,6-distanna-2,5,7,10-tetraoxacyclodecane was carried out in chloroform, dichloromethane, or 1,2-dichloroethane. Effects of reaction temperature, solvent, and monomer-to-initiator ratio were investigated. Polymerization kinetics showed a first-order dependence on the monomer for polymerization in chloroform and dichloromethane at 40°C. The kinetic order with respect to the initiator were a first order when dichloromethane was used as the solvent, the order in initiator changed, depending on the initiator concentration when chloroform was used. A maximum in molecular weight was observed at 40°C when chloroform was used as the solvent. The change of solvent did not markedly alter the polymerization rate or the molecular weight of the polymers prepared, as expected from the coordination insertion mechanism. Depolymerization of the polymers formed was observed when the reaction was allowed to continue after complete monomer conversion in chloroform as reaction medium at 40°C. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 3407–3417, 1999     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(ϵ-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol) block copolymer

Poly(ϵ-caprolactone)–poly(ethylene glycol)–poly(ϵ-caprolactone) triblock copolymers (PECL) covering a wide range of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) lengths were synthesized with alkali metal alkoxide derivatives of poly(ethylene glycol). The effects of various factors, such as amount of the initiator, reaction time and temperature, polarity of solvent, length of PEG segment, and counterion on the polymerization were investigated. The copolymers were characterized by ¹H-NMR, IR, GPC, and DSC. It was found that THF system is superior to toluene system. The conversion of the monomer increased with increase of the initiator concentration. High molecular weight of the copolymer and high conversion of the monomer was obtained at below 30°C within 5 min. The polymerization process was studied by GPC and the coexistence of propagation and transesterification reaction was found, which leaded to relatively broad molecular weight distribution of the copolymers. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Poly(N-phenyl-2-hydroxytrimethylene amine): Its blends with poly(ϵ-caprolactone) and water-soluble polyethers

A new polymer with pendant hydroxyl groups, namely, poly(N-phenyl-2-hydroxytrime-thylene amine) (PHA), was synthesized by a direct condensation polymerization of aniline and epichlorohydrin in an alkaline medium. The new polymer is amorphous with a glass transition temperature (T_g) of 70°C. Blends of PHA with poly(ϵ-caprolactone) (PCL), as well as with two water-soluble polyethers, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME), were prepared by casting from a common solvent. It was found that all the three blends were miscible and showed a single, composition dependent glass transition temperature (T_g). FTIR studies revealed that PHA can form hydrogen bonds with PCL, PEO, and PVME, which are driving forces for the miscibility of the blends. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Synthesis and characterization of biodegradable block copolymers of ϵ-caprolactone and D,L-lactide initiated by potassium poly(ethylene glycol)ate

Poly(D ,L -lactide)–poly(ϵ-caprolactone)–poly(ethylene glycol)–poly(ϵ-caprolactone)–poly(D ,L -lactide) block copolymer (PLA–PCL–PEG–PCL–PLA) was prepared by copolymerization of ϵ-caprolactone (ϵ-CL) and D ,L -lactide (D ,L -LA) initiated by potassium poly(ethylene glycol)ate in THF at 25°C. The copolymers with different composition were synthesized by adjusting the mole ratio of reaction mixture. The resulted copolymers were characterized by ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, IR, DSC, and GPC. Efforts to prepare copolymers with the corresponding structure of PCL–PLA–PEG–PLA–PCL and D ,L -lactide/ϵ-caprolactone random copolymers were not successful. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Hydrolyzable poly(ester-urethane) networks from L-lysine diisocyanate and D,L-lactide/ϵ-caprolactone homo- and copolyester triols

Bioabsorbable poly(ester-urethane) networks were synthesized from ethyl 2,6-diisocyanatohexanoate (L -lysine diisocyanate) (LDI) and a series of polyester triols. LDI was synthesized by refluxing L-lysine monohydrochloride with ethanol to form the ester, which was subsequently refluxed with 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane to yield a silazane-protected intermediate. This product was then phosgenated using triphosgene. Polyester triols were synthesized from D,L-lactide, ?-caprolactone, or comonomer mixtures thereof, using glycerol as initiator and stannous octoate as catalyst. Polyurethane networks were cured using [NCO]/[OH] = 1.05 and stannous octoate (0.05 wt %) for 24 h at room temperature and pressure and 24 h at 50°C and 0.1 mm Hg. LDI-based polyurethane networks were totally amorphous and possessed very low sol contents. Networks based on poly (D,L-lactide) triols were rigid (T_g ∽ 60°C) with ultimate tensile strengths of ～ 40–70 MPa, tensile moduli of ～ 1.2–2.0 GPa, and ultimate elongations of ～ 4–10%. Networks based on ?-caprolactone triols were low-modulus elastomers with tensile strengths and moduli of ～ 1–4 MPa and ～ 3–6 GPa, respectively, and ultimate elongations of ～ 50–300%. Networks based on copolymers displayed physical properties consistent with monomer composition and were tougher than the networks based on the homopolymers. Tensile strengths for the copolymers were ～ 3–25 MPa with ultimate elongations up to 600%. Hydrolytic degradation under simulated physiological conditions showed that D ,L -lactide homopolymer networks were the most resistant to degradation, undergoing virtually no change in mass or physical properties for 60 days. ?-Caprolactone-based networks were resistant to degradation for 40 days, and high-lactide copolymer-based networks suffered substantial losses in physical properties after only 3 days. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Melt block copolymerization of ϵ-caprolactone and L-lactide

AB block copolymers of ϵ-caprolactone and (L )-lactide could be prepared by ring-opening polymerization in the melt at 110°C using stannous octoate as a catalyst and ethanol as an initiator provided ϵ-caprolactone was polymerized first. Ethanol initiated the polymerization of ϵ-caprolactone producing a polymer with ϵ-caprolactone derived hydroxyl end groups which after addition of L -lactide in the second step of the polymerization initiated the ring-opening copolymerization of L -lactide. The number-average molecular weights of the poly(ϵ-caprolactone) blocks varied from 1.5 to 5.2 × 10³, while those of the poly(L -lactide) blocks ranged from 17.4 to 49.7 × 10³. The polydispersities of the block copolymers varied from 1.16 to 1.27. The number-average molecular weights of the polymers were controlled by the monomer/hydroxyl group ratio, and were independent on the monomer/stannous octoate ratio within the range of experimental conditions studied. When L -lactide was polymerized first, followed by copolymerization of ϵ-caprolactone, random copolymers were obtained. The formation of random copolymers was attributed to the occurrence of transesterification reactions. These side reactions were caused by the ϵ-caprolactone derived hydroxyl end groups generated during the copolymerization of ϵ-caprolactone with pre-polymers of L -lactide. The polymerization proceeds through an ester alcoholysis reaction mechanism, in which the stannous octoate activated ester groups of the monomers react with hydroxyl groups. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Miscibility of poly(ϵ-caprolactone) and of poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) with poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid)

The miscibility of poly (?-caprolactone) (PCL) with poly (styrene-co-acrylic acid) (SAA) and of poly (styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN) with SAA was examined as a function of the comonomer composition in the copolymers. For PCL/SAA blends it was found that PCL is miscible with SAA within a specific range of copolymer compositions. Segmental interaction energy densities were evaluated by analysis of the equilibrium melting point depression and application of a binary interaction model. The results suggest that the intramolecular repulsion in SAA copolymer plays an important role in inducing the miscibility. Additionally, the critical AA content in SAA for the blend to be homogeneous was predicted by correlating the segmental interaction energy densities with the binary interaction model. For SAN/SAA blends, it was also found that SAA is miscible with SAN within a specific range of copolymer compositions. From the binary interaction model, segmental interaction energy denisties between different monomer units were estimated from the miscibility map and were found to be positive for all pairs, indicating that the miscibility of the blends is due to the strong repulsion in the SAA copolymers.     

Synthesis and characterization of highly random copolymer of ϵ-caprolactone and D,L-lactide using rare earth catalyst

Highly random copolymers of ϵ-caprolactone (CL) and D ,L -lactide (LA) were synthesized by a new catalyst system, rare earth chloride–propylene oxide (PO) system. In the presence of propylene oxide, all rare earth chlorides tested are highly effective for the copolymerization. The influences of reaction conditions on the copolymerization catalyzed by the NdCl₃-5PO system have been investigated in detail. The reactivity ratios of ϵ-caprolactone and D ,L -lactide were determined and show that the copolymerization with this new rare earth catalyst is closer to ideal copolymerization than reported for other catalysts. The microstructure of copolymer analyzed by ¹³C-NMR shows that the monomer units in the copolymer is near to completely random distribution with a short average monomer sequence length. The DSC measurement confirms the high randomness of the chain structure. The mechanism studied by NMR indicates that the rare earth alkoxide generated by the reaction of rare earth chloride with propylene oxide initiates the copolymerization, and then proceeds via a “coordination-insertion” mechanism with acyl-oxygen bond cleavage of CL and LA. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Block–Stereoblock Copolymers of Poly(ϵ‐Caprolactone) and Poly(Lactic Acid)

A magnesium complex of the type {ONNN}Mg‐HMDS wherein {ONNN} is a sequential tetradentate monoanionic ligand is introduced. In the presence of an alcohol initiator this complex catalyzes the living and immortal homopolymerization of the lactide enantiomers and ?‐caprolactone at room‐temperature with exceptionally high activities, as well as the precise block copolymerization of these monomers in a one‐pot synthesis by sequential monomer addition. Copolymers of unprecedented microstructures such as the PCL‐b‐PLLA‐b‐PDLA and PDLA‐b‐PLLA‐b‐PCL‐b‐PLLA‐b‐PDLA block–stereoblock microstructures that feature unique thermal properties are readily accessed.     

Intramolecular interactions in poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile)/poly(ε-caprolactone) blends

Specific interactions in blends of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(styrene-co-acry-lonitrile) (SAN) were studied as a function of copolymer composition and blend ratio by using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It was shown that miscibility occurred within a certain range of copolymer compositions because the presence of PCL reduced the thermodynamically unfavorable repulsion between styrene and acrylonitrile segments in the random copolymer. This effect was observed in terms of a shift to higher frequencies in the 700 cm^-1 γ-CH out-of-plane deformation vibration absorption of styrene and in the approximately 2236 cm^?1 C?N stretching frequency band in acrylonitrile segments. Specific intermolecular interactions between SAN and PCL were not observed in this study. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(β‐hydroxybutyrate) and poly(ϵ‐caprolactone) copolyester by transesterification

To synthesize the copolyester of poly(β‐hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and poly(?‐caprolactone) (PCL), the transesterification of PHB and PCL was carried out in the liquid phase with stannous octoate as the catalyzer. The effects of reaction conditions on the transesterification, including catalyzer concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time, were investigated. The results showed that both rising reaction temperature and increasing reaction time were advantageous to the transesterification. The sequence distribution, thermal behavior, and thermal stability of the copolyesters were investigated by ¹³C NMR, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction, optical microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The transesterification of PHB and PCL was confirmed to produce the block copolymers. With an increasing PCL content in the copolyesters, the thermal behavior of the copolyesters changed evidently. However, the introduction of PCL segments into PHB chains did not affect its crystalline structure. Moreover, thermal stability of the copolyesters was little improved in air as compared with that of pure PHB. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 1893–1903, 2002     

Fibrillar structure of resorbable microblock copolymers based on 1,5‐dioxepan‐2‐one and ε‐caprolactone

The copolymerization of 1,5‐dioxepan‐2‐one (DXO) and ε‐caprolactone, initiated by a five‐membered cyclic tin alkoxide initiator, was performed in chloroform at 60 °C. Copolymers with different molar ratios of DXO (25, 40, and 60%) were synthesized and characterized. ¹³C NMR spectroscopy of the carbonyl region revealed the formation of copolymers with a blocklike structure. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements showed that all the copolymers had a single glass transition between ?57 and ?49 °C and a melting temperature in the range of 30.1–47.7 °C, both of which were correlated with the amount of DXO. An increase in the amount of DXO led to an increase in the glass‐transition temperature and to a decrease in the melting temperature. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis measurements confirmed the results of the calorimetric analysis, showing a single sharp drop in the storage modulus in the temperature region corresponding to the glass transition. Tensile testing demonstrated good mechanical properties with a tensile strength of 27–39 MPa and an elongation at break of up to 1400%. The morphology of the copolymers was examined with polarized optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy; the films that crystallized from the melt showed a short fibrillar structure (with a length of 0.05–0.4 μm) in contrast to the untreated solution‐cast films. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 2412–2423, 2003     

Ternary blends of phenoxy/SAN/poly(-ε-caprolactone)

The compatibilizing effect of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) on the blends of two immiscible polymers, poly(hydroxy ether of bisphenol A) (phenoxy) and poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN) has been investigated. The phase behavior of the ternary blends was affected by the AN content in the SAN copolymers and a maximum miscible region was observed at 19.5 wt % of AN. The effect of AN content on the phase behavior of the ternary blends was interpreted in terms of the relative magnitude of the segmental interaction energy densities, which were obtained by combining a melting point depression and an extended binary interaction model. When a small amount of PCL was added to the phenoxy/SAN blends, the phase morphology showed a finer phase dispersion, indicating that the interfacial tension between the phenoxy and SAN is considerably reduced. However, the improvement in tensile properties was limited despite the morphological change with the PCL content. From the results of the DSC measurements, SEM, and tensile testing, it was understood that the PCL acted as a compatibilizer for the immiscible phenoxy/SAN blends. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

超声技术合成1,5-二-(4-羟基苯基)-1,4-戊二烯-3-酮

利用对羟基苯甲醛和丙酮为原料,以氯化氢气体为催化剂,超声波辐射下成功合成了1,5-二-(4-羟基苯基)-1,4-戊二烯3-酮(HPD).与传统方法相比,该方法具有反应时间短,操作简便及产率高等优点,并讨论了影响产率的因素.     

Phase behavior,crystallization, and morphology in thermosetting blends of a biodegradable poly(ethylene glycol)‐type epoxy resin and poly(ϵ‐caprolactone)

Thermosetting blends of a biodegradable poly(ethylene glycol)‐type epoxy resin (PEG‐ER) and poly(?‐caprolactone) (PCL) were prepared via an in situ curing reaction of poly(ethylene glycol) diglycidyl ether (PEGDGE) and maleic anhydride (MAH) in the presence of PCL. The miscibility, phase behavior, crystallization, and morphology of these blends were investigated. The uncured PCL/PEGDGE blends were miscible, mainly because of the entropic contribution, as the molecular weight of PEGDGE was very low. The crystallization and melting behavior of both PCL and the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) segment of PEGDGE were less affected in the uncured PCL/PEGDGE blends because of the very close glass‐transition temperatures of PCL and PEGDGE. However, the cured PCL/PEG‐ER blends were immiscible and exhibited two separate glass transitions, as revealed by differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis. There existed two phases in the cured PCL/PEG‐ER blends, that is, a PCL‐rich phase and a PEG‐ER crosslinked phase composed of an MAH‐cured PEGDGE network. The crystallization of PCL was slightly enhanced in the cured blends because of the phase‐separated nature; meanwhile, the PEG segment was highly restricted in the crosslinked network and was noncrystallizable in the cured blends. The phase structure and morphology of the cured PCL/PEG‐ER blends were examined with scanning electron microscopy; a variety of phase morphologies were observed that depended on the blend composition. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2833–2843, 2004     

Poly(ε-caprolactone) modified by functional groups: Preparation and chemical–physical investigation

Functionalization of polymers is a particular relevant approach in the field of biodegradable polymers, where modifications are often required to allow these materials to replace more conventional, not biodegradable polymers in a wider range of applications. This article will report on functionalization of poly(ε-caprolactone) with unsaturated monomers bearing either anhydride groups (PCL-g-(MA-GMA)) or tertiary amines (PCL-g-DMAEA), obtained through radical grafting in a Brabender mixer. Crystallization kinetics parameters have been determined with several techniques (rheology, optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry) and the results obtained are in good agreement. It was observed that the crystallization rate significantly increases in the case of the modified polymers.