(193au) Aromatic-Doped Polycaprolactone with Tunable Degradation Behavior

A novel aromatic-doped polycaprolactone (Aro-PCL)
was synthesized through a facile PCL aminolysis-condensation polymerization, and assessed focusing on the dynamic aggregation
and crystalline microdomains associated with the degradation
property and mechanical performance. Characterized by FTIR, NMR, UV-vis,
DSC, WAXD, SAXS, POM, AFM, etc., it is illustrated
that the polymer chains of Aro-PCL can assemble fast to
form more and smaller low-oriented crystal microdomains, comparing with the pristine
PCL. The Aro-PCL films possess fast degradation rate but also the improved mechanical
performance including the augmented elongation at break, elastic modulus and
radial strength. In particular, the Aro-PCL polymer films show the decrease of molecule weight at the beginning of hydrolytic degradation while
maintaining the mechanical support stable. Molecular
simulation indicates that the
doped aromatic rings and the amide groups can change greatly the
electron density distribution in the aliphatic chains, which in turn modulates
the variation of the molecule weight and the mechanical performance during hydrolytic degradation property
of polycaprolactone. Such Aro-PCL
polymer has promising applications as a kind of degradable biomaterials.