Abstract: A novel diblock copolymer of poly(ε-caprolactone)-b-hyperbranched polyglycidol(PCL-b-HPG) was synthesized via a two-step reaction. Firstly, a hydroxyl-terminated PCL was prepared via the ring-opening polymerization using 1-dodecanol as the initiator. The obtained PCL was further treated with naphthalene potassium to get a PCL-based macro-initiator. Secondly, initiated by this macro-initiator glycidol segments were successfully linked to the PCL and the amphiphilic copolymer of PCL-b-HPG was obtained. The structure of PCL-b-HPG was characterized via ¹H NMR, GPC and IR spectra. The component ratio of the two blocks was calculated via the ¹H NMR spectra. IR results show that there are numerous hydroxyl end groups in these copolymers. Single peak was observed by GPC, which further confirmed that these polymers were true copolymers, not just blends. After the copolymerization of glycidol the viscosity decreased, which should increase generally as the molecular weight was increasing. This might be caused by the hyperbranched structure of polyglycidol block. These new materials may provide a promising opportunity to realize.

Key words: PCL-b-HPG, Hyperbranched macromolecule, Poly(ε-caprolactone), Polyglycidol ether