Narrow Results

Ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone has been carried out by using rare earth Schiff base complexes: lanthanide tris(N-phenyl-3,5-di-t-butylsalicylaldiminato)s [Ln(OPBS)₃] as single component catalyst for the first time. The influences of different rare earth elements, monomer and catalyst concentration as well as reaction time on the polymerization were investigated. Mechanism studies showed that monomer inserts into the active site with the acyl-oxygen bond scission rather than the break of alkyl-oxygen bond.

The formation of novel high aspect ratio nanofibers from polyesteramides based on ε-caprolactam and ε-caprolactone is reported. Nanofibers were prepared by the electrospinning method from polymer solution. Scanning electron microscopy images of nanofiber layers revealed that the diameter of fibers depended on the nature of the solvent or the mixture of solvents used and especially on the composition of polyesteramides.