Poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO), a typical aliphatic poly(ether-ester), is generally synthesized via ring-opening polymerization of 1,4-dioxan-2-one (p-dioxanone, PDO) monomer. However, a quite amount of PDO monomer should coexist with PPDO product due to the characteristics of the equilibrium polymerization. To clarify the effects of PDO on the properties of PPDO, a series of PPDO/PDO mixtures with different PDO content were prepared by adding PDO to pure PPDO. The thermal, mechanical, and hydrolytic properties of PPDO and PPDO/PDO mixtures were investigated systematically. It reveals that the existence of PDO in the polymer can act as plasticizer to facilitate the crystallization of PPDO, but the increasing of PDO content deteriorates the mechanical properties of the polymers, especially when the PDO loading is more than 3 php. The PDO does not distinctly affect PPDO thermal decomposition, but obviously accelerates the PPDO hydrolytic degradation. This work may provide an important reference for the industrialization and application of PPDO. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43483.

The influences on the degradation of poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) under different temperature and relatively humidity is initially investigated by adding bis-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl) carbodiimide (commercial name: stabaxol^®-1). The changes of intrinsic viscosity, mechanical properties, crystallinity, surface morphologies, and microstructure of PPDO and PPDO containing stabaxol^®-1 for 6 weeks are monitored. With increasing the degradation time, the intrinsic viscosity and mechanical properties of PPDO decrease much faster than those of PPDO containing 0.6 wt % stabaxol^®-1. During the degradation, PPDO containing 0.6 wt % stabaxol^®-1 shows a better physical integrity than PPDO. It has been shown that stabaxol^®-1 can retard the hydrolysis degradation of PPDO and enhance its hydrolytic stability. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2014, 131, 40026.

A rapid and “green” synthesis of poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO)/montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites was carried out smoothly and effectively nder constant microwave powers of 30, 60, 90, and 120 W in a microwave oven at a frequency of 2.45 GHz. The temperature of polymerization was in the range 103–224°C. PPDO, with a viscosity-average molecular weight of 111,000 g/mol and a conversion of 85%, was obtained at 60 W for 10 min, in which the ratio of p-dioxanone to AlEt₃ was 300/1 (mol/mol). The intercalated structure of PPDO/MMT nanocomposites was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Thermogravimetry data showed that the thermal stability of the nanocomposites prepared under microwave irradiation was improved with respect to those prepared via conventional heating. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012