| Abstract: | New star‐shaped and photocrosslinked poly(1,5‐dioxepan‐2‐one) (PDXO) has been synthesized through ring‐opening polymerization initiated by SnOct2/pentaerythritol. The star‐shaped PDXO was end‐functionalized by acrolyol chloride to form acrylate end groups. The end‐functionalized PDXO was photocrosslinked initiated by 2,2‐dimethoxy‐2‐phenylacetophenone. The gel content ranged from 80 to 99%, indicating a high degree of crosslinking. The thermal properties of the star‐shaped PDXO and the photocrosslinked PDXO were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry. The glass‐transition temperature was determined to approximately ?32 °C for the crosslinked PDXO. The viscosity numbers were determined for star‐shaped PDXO, with reference to linear homologues. The star‐shaped PDXO had lower viscosity numbers than the linear counterparts. The crosslinked PDXO showed a rather hydrophilic surface as compared with other resorbable polyesters. The advancing contact angle was 64 ± 2, and the receding angle was 57 ± 4. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 2049–2054, 2002 |
