The effects of temperature and relative humidity on the hydrolytic degradation of poly(

p

-dioxanone) (PPDO) were investigated. The hydrolytic degradation behaviors were monitored by tracing the changes of water absorption

mechanical and crystalline properties

molecular weight and its distribution

surface morphologies

as well as infrared absorption peaks and hydrogen chemical shifts during the degradation. It is found that the water absorption increases whilst the intrinsic viscosity

tensile strength and elongation at break decrease as the temperature or relative humidity increases. With degradation time growing

the molecular weight drops and its distribution broadens. The crystallinity of PPDO has a tendency to increase at first and then to decrease

while the crystalline structure is not significantly changed. At the same time

some cracks are observed on the surface and keep growing and deepening. All results show that temperature plays more significant roles than relative humidity during the degradation. The analyses of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy reveal that the degradation of PPDO is a predominant hydrolysis of ester linkages.