Flexible Gradient Poly(ether-ester)from the Copolymerization of Epoxides and c-Caprolactone Mediated by a Hetero-bimetallic Complex

Copolymerization is a commonly employed method for optimizing the properties of polymer materials.Incorporating ether segments into polyesters main chain to obtain polyether-polyester copolymers is an effective strategy to realize the integration of multiple properties of polyester and polyether,and to develop more high-performance,multi-purpose polymer materials.Herein,the synthesis of poly(ether-ester)s is accessible by employing the biphenyl-linked heterodinuclear salen Cr-AI complex in the presence of PPNCI for the copolymerization of epoxides and£-caprolactone(CL).Monitoring the copolymerization process reveals that catalyst 1 exhibited good performance for the copolymerization of epoxides and CL,affording copolymers with a gradient sequence structure.The dynamic thermomechanical analysis(DMA)study indicates the obtained poly(ether-ester)s possess enhanced flexibility compared with the block copolymers or blend of PPO and PCL homopolymers with the same ratio.This study provides a theoretical basis for the preparation of high-performance polymer materials.