CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 34biodegradable polymer synthesis and propertiesCarbon dioxide utilization in catalysisAdvanced Polymer Synthesis and Characterization

Synthesis of high-molecular-weight poly (ε-caprolactone) via heterogeneous zinc-cobalt (III) double metal cyanide complex

Open access
Liu, Zi-Heng, Li, Yang, Zhang, Cheng-Jian, Zhang, Ying-Ying, Cao, Xiao-Han, Zhang, Xing-Hong·2020·Giant
DOI 10.1016/j.giant.2020.100030
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

The synthesis of high-molecular-weight poly(ε-caprolactone)s (PCLs) with enhanced mechanical properties remains challenging. Here we demonstrate the heterogeneous catalysis for the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of ε-caprolactone (ε-CL). Using a zinc-cobalt double-metal cyanide complex [Zn-Co(III) DMCC] in the presence of around 1% mol epoxides, PCLs are achieved with high number-average molecular weights (Mns) of up to 177.7 kDa determined by the gel permeation chromatography. The [Zn]-OH active site of the complex triggers the cleavage of the epoxide at first, which is considered as the rate-determining step of the polymerization. The formed zinc-alkoxide species then initiates the ROP of ε-CL, affording most of the PCLs possessing one epoxide molecule embedded in the polymer chain and dihydroxyl terminals as revealed by the 1H NMR and MALDI-TOF MS spectroscopy. The PCL specimen with a corrected Mn of 110.4 kDa exhibits the tensile strength and elongation at break of as high as 40.2 MPa and 1060%, respectively. This work provides a facile and practical method for the synthesis of high-molecular-weight PCLs.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.giant.2020.100030

Cites

38 of 38 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • The zinc-cobalt double-metal cyanide complex produces higher molecular weight PCL with better tensile strength and elongation at break, but may compromise processability due to increased viscosity.

    “the zinc–cobalt double-metal cyanide complex [Zn-Co(III) DMCC] produced higher molecular weight PCL, which exhibits better tensile strength and elongation at break, but may compromise processability due to its increased viscosity [41]”

    From Nanocellulose-Reinforced Poly(Lactic Acid) and Poly(ε-caprolactone) Bio-Nanocomposites: A Review and Future Outlook for Poly(Lactic Acid)/Poly(ε-caprolactone) Blend Systems (2025) · cites this paper as [41]

    The Results and discussion section reports that Zn–Co(III) DMCC produced high-molecular-weight PCL and that tensile strength and elongation at break increased with molecular weight (Fig. 6; page unavailable). Our copy does not report increased viscosity or a resulting compromise in processability; searches for those terms found no supporting passage. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

1 of the 39 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Liu, Z.-H., Li, Y., Zhang, C.-J., Zhang, Y.-Y., Cao, X.-H., & Zhang, X.-H.
Affiliations
Zhejiang University (CN)
ORCID
Venue
Giant
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-08
Volume
3
Pages
100030
ISSN
2666-5425 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.giant.2020.100030
OpenAlex
W3091385895
Cited by
34
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2
FWCI
0.59
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Giant (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties
  • Physical Sciences › Chemical Engineering › Process Chemistry and Technology › Carbon dioxide utilization in catalysis
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Organic Chemistry › Advanced Polymer Synthesis and Characterization
Keywords
polycaprolactone, ε-caprolactone ring-opening polymerization, heterogeneous catalysis, high molecular weight, mechanical properties, tensile strength, elongation at break

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review