Effects of specific bonding interactions in poly(ɛ-caprolactone)/silica hybrid materials on optical transparency and melting behavior

In this study, the non-covalently coupled poly(ɛ-caprolactone)/silica hybrid materials were prepared via in situ sol-gel process of tetraethoxylsilane (TEOS) in the presence of PCL. 1H NMR and FTIR indicated that there were the intercomponent hydrogen bonding interactions between polymeric and inorganic component. With increasing content of inorganic component, which acts as donor of hydrogen bonding, the intensity of hydrogen bonding increases and results in the optical transparency of hybrid materials enhancement. The analysis of melting behaviors for hybrid materials shows that the hydrogen bonding interactions have a considerable influence on the behavior of crystallization of PCL in hybrid materials.