2022 Annual Meeting

Metastability of PEO-B-PCL and Self-Nucleation

It is important to study crystallization order in order to better understand how polymer films can be applicable in drug delivery. Through the studying of the diblock copolymer film, PEO-b-PCL, minority crystallization can be further understood and utilized, specifically in the context of self-nucleation in the Domain 2 region. In this study, the order of crystallization for PEO and PCL has been studied through the creation of both casted samples (in toluene) and uncasted samples of the polymer. Specifically, PEO-b-PCL with molecular weights 5k-5k and 5k-10k were thermally treated through the use of a Hot Stage and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). For both the uncasted samples and for the casted 5k-10k sample, PCL crystallized first. While for the casted 5k-5k sample, PEO crystallized first. Some changes in Domain temperature ranges compared to previous DSC analysis have occurred.