Preparation and polymerization mechanism of dihydroxy-capped PCL,poly(CL-b-PEG-b-CL) and poly(DTC-b-CL-b-DTC)

The ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone (CL) was initiated by glycol and yttrium tri(2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenolate)s (Y(OAr)₃), preparing dihydroxy-capped poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) with controllable molecular weight. ¹H NMR and SEC analyses indicate that two kinds of active species and corresponding PCL with different structures exist in the system. Increasing the ratio of glycol to Y(OAr)₃ benefits the formation of monofunctional active species. However, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)/Y(OAr)₃ system only contains sole bifunctional active species to synthesize copolymer of CL with PEG (poly(CL-b-PEG-b-CL)). Dihydroxycapped PCL as macroinitiator can further initiate the polymerization of 2,2-dimethyltrimethylene carbonate (DTC). Thus, triblock copolymer of CL with DTC (poly(DTC-b-CL-b-DTC)) has been prepared.