Two-way Shape Memory Effect of Polycaprolactone-based Polyurethane <italic style="font-style: italic">via</italic> Synergistic Role of Hydrogen Bonding and Crystallization Tuned by Malic Acid

Xue-Qing Li; Shuai Lu; Jun-Jie Tan; Bo Lv; Hong-Ye Yan; Yan Tang; Yu Zhou; Yang Zhou; Hong-Xiang Chen

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3686-6

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Two-way Shape Memory Effect of Polycaprolactone-based Polyurethane via Synergistic Role of Hydrogen Bonding and Crystallization Tuned by Malic Acid

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-08-31

- Two-way Shape Memory Effect of Polycaprolactone-based Polyurethane via Synergistic Role of Hydrogen Bonding and Crystallization Tuned by Malic Acid
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 9, Pages: 3042-3052(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
  b.School of Textile Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing Technology, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430200, China
  c.Hubei Key Laboratory of Pollutant Analysis & Reuse Technology, Hubei Normal University, Huangshi 435002, China
- Author bio：
  
  chenhongxiang@wust.edu.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3686-6
  CLC：
- Received：31 January 2026，
  
  Accepted：26 March 2026，
  
  Online First：11 June 2026，
  
  Published：05 September 2026
- Accepted：
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Li, X. Q.; Lu, S.; Tan, J. J.; Lv, B.; Yan, H. Y.; Tang, Y.; Zhou, Y.; Zhou, Y.; Chen, H. X. Two-way shape memory effect of polycaprolactone-based polyurethane via synergistic role of hydrogen bonding and crystallization tuned by malic acid. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 3042–3052

Xue-Qing Li, Shuai Lu, Jun-Jie Tan, et al. Two-way Shape Memory Effect of Polycaprolactone-based Polyurethane via Synergistic Role of Hydrogen Bonding and Crystallization Tuned by Malic Acid[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(9): 3042-3052. DOI: 10.1007/s10118-026-3686-6.
Li, X. Q.; Lu, S.; Tan, J. J.; Lv, B.; Yan, H. Y.; Tang, Y.; Zhou, Y.; Zhou, Y.; Chen, H. X. Two-way shape memory effect of polycaprolactone-based polyurethane via synergistic role of hydrogen bonding and crystallization tuned by malic acid. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 3042–3052 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3686-6.

Xue-Qing Li, Shuai Lu, Jun-Jie Tan, et al. Two-way Shape Memory Effect of Polycaprolactone-based Polyurethane via Synergistic Role of Hydrogen Bonding and Crystallization Tuned by Malic Acid[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(9): 3042-3052. DOI: 10.1007/s10118-026-3686-6. DOI：

摘要

Malic acid

(MA) side chains were incorporated into the polycaprolactone (PCL)-based cross-linked polyurethane. The incorporation broadened the melting transition. The sample exhibited a steadier

act

and a higher

rec

during four heating-cooling cycles. The synergistic mechanism of dynamic MA-PCL hydrogen bonding and residual crystalline domains optimized the precision of deformation and cyclic stability.

Abstract

Semi-crystalline polymers can obtain a broad melting transition by copolymerization or blending and show a two-way shape memory effect (2W-SME) under stress-free conditions. However

intricate interactions between polymers are not easily controlled. It is still challenging for semi-crystalline polymers to obtain a two-way shape memory effect by broadening the melting transition. Here

we prepared polycaprolactone (PCL)-based cross-linked polyurethane by using malic acid as a side chain

thereby exploring the relationship between malic acid and the crystallinity of PCL or 2W-SME. The results showed that the incorporation of malic acid broadened the melting transition and improved the two-way shape memory behavior of the PCL-based cross-linked polyurethane. The influence of malic acid on the dynamic response mechanism of polyurethane was studied using

in situ

polarized optical microscopy (POM)

X-ray diffraction (XRD)

and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The investigation revealed that the malic acid side chain plays a dual role by adjusting the crystallization behavior and strengthening the hydrogen-bonding network in the two-way shape memory process. This work provides a versatile strategy for the structural design of two-way shape memory polymers.

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Two-way Shape Memory Effect of Polycaprolactone-based Polyurethane via Synergistic Role of Hydrogen Bonding and Crystallization Tuned by Malic Acid

DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3686-6

摘要

Abstract

关键词

Keywords

references