Dual Role of Zinc 2‐Ethylhexanoate in the Preparation of Poly(Vinyl Chloride) Plasticized With Low Molar Weight Poly(ε‐Caprolactone)

ABSTRACT Poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL), an aliphatic biodegradable polyester, has been used as a poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) plasticizer due to its good miscibility, nonvolatility, and nontoxicity. In general, polymeric plasticizers are less effective and require a higher processing temperature. Therefore, the objective of this work is the preparation of PVC blends plasticized with poly(ε‐caprolactone) obtained by in situ polymerization of monomeric ε‐caprolactone during the processing of PVC blends. Here, zinc 2‐ethylhexanoate (zinc octanoate) acts as part of the PVC stabilization system and at the same time as an initiator of ε‐caprolactone polymerization, especially with hexane‐1,6‐diol co‐initiator. Polymerization of ε‐caprolactone is affected by the presence of PVC itself and an environmentally friendly co‐stabilizer based on synthetic hydrotalcite. Optimization of the stabilization system enabled preparation of stabilized PVC blends plasticized with low‐molar PCL that show promising properties for further evaluation in biomedical contexts.