A biodegradable copolymer from coupling poly(p- Dioxanone) with polyethylene succinate via toluene-2,4-diisocyanate

Abstract

Poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) and poly(ethylene succinate) (PES) prepolymers were reacted together using toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI) as a chain extender to produce high molecular weight of chain-extended products of PPDO and PES (PPDOES) in a suitable reaction condition. The novel biodegradable polymers were characterized by 1H-NMR, DSC, POM and WAXD. DSC measurement shows that PPDOES has only one Tg, which means that PPDO has good compatibility with PES. Beside this, the glass transition temperatures and the melting temperatures of PPDOES increased with the increase of PES content. The crystallization rate of PPDOES was slower than that of PPDO as confirmed by DSC and POM. The diffraction peaks of PPDOES appear at the same 20 angles as that of homopolymers, suggesting that PPDO and PES segment of the chainextended products reserve their own crystallization form. The results of thermal oxidative degradation show that chain-extended products have better thermal stability than PPDO.