Influences of Bis-(2,6-Diisopropylphenyl) Carbodiimide on the Thermal Stability and Crystallization of Poly(P-Dioxanone)

The influences on the thermal degradation and crystallization behaviors of poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) were initially investigated by adding bis-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl) carbodiimide (labeled as St). It was found that the addition of St could significantly enhance the thermal stability and crystallizability of PPDO. The thermal decomposition temperature of PPDO increased with the increase of the amount of St added. The thermal decomposition activation energies of PPDO increased from 94.2 to 130.8 kJ mol^?1 in the case of 5 wt% St. The addition of St did not change the crystal structure of PPDO, while it increased the number of nucleation sites and improved the crystallizability of PPDO. The crystallization activation energies, calculated by the Kissinger method, for PPDO and PPDO/5 wt% St were ?111.4 and ?141.5 kJ mol^?1, respectively, confirming the crystallizability of PPDO was enhanced after the addition of St.