Polycaprolactone Review

Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a semi-crystalline polymer that is a linear polymer obtained by ring-opening polymerization of E-caprolactone. PCL has a Tg of -60°C and a melting point of about 60°C. Due to the flexibility of its structure, the strength is insufficient. Therefore, it is necessary to modify PCL. Through the modification of PCL, a variety of new polycaprolactone materials can be constructed that can meet the requirements of existing or improved processing technology and can achieve specific functional requirements.

The addition of PCL significantly improves the performance of starch. When the starch matrix is ​​in a glass state, adding PCL to reduce the Young's modulus of the material, but can increase the impact strength; when the starch matrix is ​​in a rubber state, adding PCL to increase the Young's modulus (the state of the starch matrix is ​​related to the degree of starch plasticization ). Even when the amount of PCL added is very low (10%), regardless of the state of the starch matrix, the dimensional stability of the system and the water resistance of the material are significantly improved. The thermodynamic properties of the sample show that starch and PCL are incompatible, and there is phase separation. In order to solve the phase separation of the blend system of starch and polycaprolactone, the simple method is to add a compatibilizer containing hydrophilic and lipophilic amphoteric groups, and use the compatibility of the hydrophobic part of the compatibilizer with the PCL phase, and the hydrophilic part compatibility with starch phase to improve interface performance.