EFFECT OF POLYMERIZATION CATALYSTS ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE OF P(LLA-CO-EPSILON-CL)

The copolymerization of L,L-lactide and epsilon-caprolactone was carried out using antimony trioxide and stannous octoate as catalysts. The effect of polymerization catalysts on the physical and the chemical microstructures of this copolymer was investigated by C-13 NMR and DSC analysis. Antimony trioxide causes more random sequence distribution within the copolymer chain due to its higher transesterification characteristic than stannous octoate. The copolymer samples made with the antimony trioxide catalyst seem to have more amorphous phase structure, than those prepared using stannous octoate which are semicrystalline for the entire compositional range due to blocky copolymer sequences. (C) 1994 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.