Non-isothermal crystallization kinetics and degradation kinetics studies on barium thioglycolate end-capped poly(ε-caprolactone)

The poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) was synthesized by ring-opening polymerization at 160 °C under nitrogen atmosphere for 2 h by bulk polymerization method in the presence of barium thioglycolate (Ba-TG) as an initiator and stannous octoate as a catalyst. The monomer-to-initiator ratio was maintained at 400. The Ba-TG end-capped PCL was characterized by various analytical tools like FTIR spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy, AFM, DSC, TGA, POM and HRTEM. The non-isothermal crystallization kinetic study was executed with the help of DSC in order to determine the rate at which nucleation formation and spherulitic growth take place. The thermal degradation kinetic studies were performed with the help of TGA to know the degradation rate as well as energy of activation (Ea) using different non-isothermal kinetic models. The main aim of the present investigation is to determine the role of chain end-capping agent (Ba-TG) on the crystallization and degradation process of PCL. It was found that the Ba-TG induced the 3D spherulitic crystal growth of PCL.