Preparation, characterization and hydrolytic degradation of poly[p-dioxanone-(butylene succinate)] multiblockcopolymer

A series of poly[p-dioxanone-(butylene succinate)] (PPDOBS) copolymers were prepared from p-dioxanone (PDO), 1,4-butanediol and succinate acids through a two-step process including the initial prepolymer preparation of poly(p-dioxanone)diol (PPDO-OH) and poly(butylene succinate)diol (PBS-OH) and the following copolymerization of the two kinds of prepolymers by coupling with hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI). The molecular structures of the prepared PPDO-OH, PBS-OH and PPDOBS were characterized by hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H NMR). The crystallization of the copolymers was investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized optical microscopy (POM) and wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). It has been shown that the crystallization rate and the degree of crystallization increases with the increase of the weight fraction of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) blocks in the copolymers. In phosphate buffer solution with pH 7.4 at 37 °C for 18 weeks, the hydrolytic degradation behaviors of the copolymers were studied. The changes of retention weight, water absorption, pH value, and surface morphologies with the degradation time showed that the hydrolytic degradation rate of PPDOBS could be controlled by adjusting the weight fraction of poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) and PBS blocks in the copolymers. The changes of the thermal properties of PPDOBS during the degradation were also investigated by DSC.