Kinetics study of Ti[O(CH₂)₄OCHCH₂]₄ initiated ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone by differential scanning calorimetry

Abstract

Abstract The ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone initiated by Ti[O(CH 2 ) 4 OCHCH 2 ] 4 was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Both isothermal and dynamic experiments have been applied to obtain the kinetic parameters. The apparent polymerization rate constant for different experiments was determined; the activation energy determined is 76–88 KJ/mol by the isothermal method and 75–86 KJ/mol by the dynamic method. Using the obtained kinetic parameters, a model to predict the polymerization process was developed and can well describe the polymerization process, which demonstrates that DSC is a convenient and reliable method to study the kinetics of ring‐opening polymerization. The kinetic results also demonstrate that Ti[O(CH 2 ) 4 OCHCH 2 ] 4 is an efficient initiator in the ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008