| Abstract: | Titanium alkoxides are widely used in the ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone. In this study, functional poly(ε‐caprolactone) was synthesized with a new titanium initiator by a two‐step procedure: First, the titanium initiator, with an unsaturated group, was prepared by a classical organic reaction between 2‐hydroxyethylmethacrylate or 2‐allyloxyethanol with titanium tetrapropoxide; then, we initiated the polymerization of the ε‐caprolactone monomer in a glass reactor or twin‐screw extruder. By means of NMR spectroscopy, the structures of the initiators and polymers were determined. When 2‐hydroxyethylmethacrylate was used, there was a side reaction (transesterification) during the preparation of the initiator, and so it was impossible to obtain the expected product. With 2‐allyloxyethanol, the designed titanium initiator was synthesized with high purity, and the allyl moiety remained intact after the polymerization of ε‐caprolactone. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008 |
