LAUSR

A series of [poly(l-lactide)–poly(dimer acid methyl ester-alt-poly(propylene glycol))–poly(l-lactide)]n (PLLA–PDP–PLLA)n multiblock copolymers was synthesized in a three-step procedure: PLLA–PDP–PLLA (LDPL) triblock copolymers were synthesized using ring-opening polymerization of l-lactide with PDP macroinitiators, which was prepared via step-growth melt polycondensation based on biodiesel and macro-diol, followed by chain extension of the LDPL triblock with 4,4′-methylenebis(phenyl isocyanate). Molecular characterization revealed that the synthetic procedures yielded the desired triblock and multiblock copolymers (fPLLA = 0.22–0.27). The relationship between thermal behavior and morphology indicated microphase separation into two domains in both the triblocks and multiblocks. Compared to previously reported triblocks with a high molar mass and PLLA hard blocks with inaccessible order–disorder transition temperature (TODT) values, the multiblock architectures in this study were found to become disordered ...