Biocompatible shape‐memory poly(vinyl chloride) with a tunable switching temperature via a plasticization effect

Abstract

ABSTRACTBiocompatible shape‐memory poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) with a tunable switching temperature (Ts) was fabricated via the incorporation of an environmentally friendly plasticizer of 1,2‐cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid diisononyl (DINCH). It was revealed that both of the shape‐memory effect (SME) and Ts were significantly influenced by the plasticization effect. With the addition of DINCH, the shape‐fixing ratio (Rf) showed a slight reduction, whereas the shape‐recovering ratio (Rr) was greatly enhanced, and Ts was decreased from 90 to 47 °C. PVC with 40 phr plasticizer realized an excellent SME with an Rf of 97.0% and a Rr of 90.1%; this resulted from the formation of an efficient shape‐memory network via the physical crosslinking of the amorphous chains with crystals and rigid chain entanglements. In addition, the blood compatibility of the DINCH‐plasticized PVC was evaluated, and the results indicate that it was of great potential for biomedical applications. Therefore, in this study, we successfully developed a new shape‐memory polymer and provided a promising strategy for achieving SME with tunable Ts. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47992.