Poly(ε‐caprolactone)‐based additives: Plasticization efficacy and migration resistance

Abstract A family of poly(caprolactone) (PCL)‐based oligomeric additives was evaluated as plasticizers for poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). We found that the entire family of additives, which consist of a PCL core, diester linker, and alkyl chain cap, were effective plasticizers that improve migration resistance. The elongation at break and tensile strength of the blends made with the PCL‐based additives were comparable to blends prepared with diisononyl phthalate (DINP), a plasticizer typically used industrially, and diheptyl succinate (DHPS), an alternative biodegradable plasticizer. Increasing concentration was found to decrease glass transition temperature ( T g ) and increase elongation at break, confirming their role as functional plasticizers. We found that all of the PCL‐based plasticizers exhibited significantly reduced leaching into hexanes compared to DINP and DHPS. The PCL‐based plasticizers with shorter carbon chain lengths reduced leaching more than those with longer carbon chain lengths.