Effect of macro and molecular initiators on the structure-property relationship of poly(ε-caprolactone)

Abstract

Ring opening polymerization (ROP) of ε-caprolactone (CL) was carried out by bulk polymerization technique using stannous octoate (SO) as a catalyst and in the presence of macro or molecular initiator for 5 h under inert atmosphere with mild stirring. The % yield of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) obtained was calculated and compared based on the chemical structure of macro and molecular initiators. Various analytical techniques such as FT-IR, 1H-NMR, XPS, GPC, DSC, TGA, SEM and WCA were used to characterize the PCL. The FT-IR spectrum showed the C=O stretching around ∼1725 cm−1. The aromatic proton signal of isoeugenol (IE) initiator appeared at 7–8 ppm in the proton NMR spectrum. The experimental results obtained were compared with the literature values.