Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, Vol.39, No.17, 2108-2117, 2001
Thermal and infrared spectroscopic studies on hydrogen-bonding interactions between poly-(epsilon-caprolactone) and some dihydric phenols
The effects of three dihydric phenols on the thermal properties of poly-(epsilon -caprolactone) (PCL) were investigated by DSC. The thermal properties of PCL were found to be greatly modified by the addition of 4,4 ' -dihydroxydiphenyl ether (DHDPE). When the content of DHDPE reached 40%, PCL that was a semicrystalline polymer in the pure state changed to a fully amorphous elastomer, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was also applied to investigate the specific interaction between PCL and DHDPE. The formations of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between the carbonyl groups of PCL and the hydroxyl groups of DHDPE were discovered. By applying the Beer-Lambert law and a curve-fitting program, the fractions of hydrogen-bonded carbonyl groups were quantitatively analyzed. Although one DHDPE molecule had the potentiality to form two hydrogen bonds with PCL chains, the values of the fraction of the hydroxyl group involved in the intermolecular hydrogen bond were so little that from a statistical point of view, the formation of two hydrogen bonds was very difficult for every DHDPE molecule. Both DSC and FTIR revealed that 4,4 ' -dihydroxydiphenyl methane and 4,4 ' -dihydroxyphenyl had the ability to form hydrogen bonds with PCL, which were strongly affected by the polarity of the group linking two hydroxyphenyls and the flexibility of the molecular chain. The stronger the polarity of the group and the better the flexibility of molecular chain, the more tendencies dihydric phenol had to form intermolecular hydrogen bonds with PCL.
Keywords:hydrogen bond;poly-(p-vinylphenol);4,4 '-dihydroxydiphenyl methane;4,4 '-thiodiphenol;4,4 '-dihydroxydiphenyl ether;4,4 '-dihydroxyphenyl;blends;dihydric phenol;DSC;FTIR;polyester