In this study, a series of poly(L-lactide) (PLA)-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) segmented block copolymers were synthesized through three-step polymerization procedures.
The first step of the synthesis involved the ring-opening polymerization of ε- caprolactone, initiated by poly(tetramethylene ether glycol), which resulted in the production of HO-PCL-OH (PCL-diol). The synthesized PCL-diol acted as an initiator of the secondstep product, i.e., PLA-PCL-PLA ABA-type tri-block copolymers. Finally, the PLA-PCL segmented block copolymer was prepared by reacting PLA-PCL-PLA with hexamethylene diisocyanate, a chain extender. The PLA-PCL segmented block copolymers were characterized through nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, and universal testing machine tests. The PLA-PCL segmented block copolymer showed a lower modulus and a higher elongation at break than the PLA homopolymer without significant meltingpoint depression.