Effects of Chain Ends on Thermal and Mechanical Properties and Recyclability of Poly(γ-butyrolactone)

This work investigates effects of poly(γ-butyrolactone) (PγBL) with different initiation and termination chain ends on five types of materials properties, including thermal stability, thermal transitions, thermal recyclability, hydrolytic degradation, and dynamic mechanical behavior. Four different chain-end-capped polymers with similar molecular weights, BnO-C(=O)(CH₂)₃O]_n-R, R = C(=O)Me, C(=O)CH=CH₂, C(=O)Ph, and SiMe₂CMe₃, along with a series of uncapped polymers R′O-C(=O)(CH₂)₃O]_n-H (R′ = Bn, Ph₂CHCH₂) with M_n ranging from low (4.95 kg mol⁻¹) to high (83.2 kg mol⁻¹), have been synthesized. The termination chain end R showed a large effect on polymer decomposition temperature and hydrolytic degradation, relative to H. Overall, for those properties sensitive to the chain ends, chain-end capping renders R-protected linear PγBL behaving much like cyclic PγBL. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 2271–2279