A polymer
with high contents of ester bonds and iodine atoms was
synthesized, exhibiting sufficient biodegradability and radioactivity
for biomedical applications. The iodine moieties of the synthesized
polyester can generate halogen bonding between molecules, which may
develop additional functional properties through the bonding. In this
study, poly(glycerol adipate) (PGA) was selected and synthesized as
a polyester, which was then adequately conjugated with three different
types of iodine compounds via the hydroxy groups of PGA. It was found
that the iodine compounds could effectively work as donors of halogen
bonding. The thermal analysis by differential scanning calorimetry
(DSC) revealed that the glass transition temperature increased with
the increase in the strength of interactions caused by π–π
stacking and halogen bonding, eventually reaching 49.6 °C for
PGA with triiodobenzoic groups. An elastomeric PGA with monoiodobenzoic
groups was also obtained, exhibiting a high self-healing ability at
room temperature because of the reconstruction of halogen bonding.
Such multifaceted performance of the synthesized polyester with controllable
thermal/mechanical properties was realized by halogen bonding, leading
to a promising biomaterial with multifunctionality.