Properties of Electrospun Nanofibers of Multi-Block Copolymers of [Poly-ε-caprolactone-b-poly(tetrahydrofuran-co-ε-caprolactone)]m Synthesized by Janus Polymerization

Muhammad Ijaz Shah; Zhening Yang; Yao Li; Liming Jiang; Jun Ling

doi:10.3390/polym9110559

Properties of Electrospun Nanofibers of Multi-Block Copolymers of [Poly-ε-caprolactone-b-poly(tetrahydrofuran-co-ε-caprolactone)]_m Synthesized by Janus Polymerization

Polymers (Basel). 2017 Oct 27;9(11):559. doi: 10.3390/polym9110559.

Authors

Muhammad Ijaz Shah¹, Zhening Yang², Yao Li³, Liming Jiang⁴, Jun Ling⁵

Affiliations

¹ MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China. muhammadijazshas@yahoo.com.
² MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China. yznfly@zju.edu.cn.
³ MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China. 21429011@zju.edu.cn.
⁴ MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China. cejlm@zju.edu.cn.
⁵ MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China. lingjun@zju.edu.cn.

Abstract

Novel biodegradable multiblock copolymers of [PCL-b-P(THF-co-CL)]_m with PCL fractions of 53.3 and 88.4 wt % were prepared by Janus polymerization of ε-caprolactone (CL) and tetrahydrofuran (THF). Their electrospun mats were obtained with optimized parameters containing bead-free nanofibers whose diameters were between 290 and 520 nm. The mechanical properties of the nanofiber scaffolds were measured showing the tensile strength and strain at break of 8⁻10 MPa and 123⁻161%, respectively. Annealing improved their mechanical properties and their tensile strength and strain at break of the samples increased to 10⁻13 MPa and 267⁻338%, respectively. Due to the porous structure and crystallization in nanoscale confinement, the mechanical properties of the nanofiber scaffolds appeared as plastics, rather than as the elastomers observed in bulk thermal-molded film.

Keywords: Janus polymerization; elastomer; electrospinning; multi-block copolymers; nanofibers.