Ring opening polymerization (ROP) of ε-caprolactone (CL) was carried out by bulk polymerization technique using stannous octoate (SO) as a catalyst and in the presence of macro or molecular initiator for 5 h under inert atmosphere with mild stirring. The % yield of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) obtained was calculated and compared based on the chemical structure of macro and molecular initiators. Various analytical techniques such as FT-IR, 1H-NMR, XPS, GPC, DSC, TGA, SEM and WCA were used to characterize the PCL. The FT-IR spectrum showed the C=O stretching around ∼1725 cm−1. The aromatic proton signal of isoeugenol (IE) initiator appeared at 7–8 ppm in the proton NMR spectrum. The experimental results obtained were compared with the literature values.

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) was synthesized by two steps, namely (a) transesterification and (b) polycondensation. Various analytical instruments were used for the characterization of neat PET. The sodium salt of nucleating agents added with PET was synthesized by the in‐situ method under the same experimental conditions. The influence of CO2Na, ONa, SO3Na, PO3Na on the crystallization properties of PET was tested. The aromatic SO3Na nucleated PET exhibited the highest crystallization temperature (Tc) value of 211.4°C with the degradation temperature (Td) value of 446.9°C. The energy of activation (Ea) for the degradation and crystallization of PET was determined using various kinetic models. The modified Avrami equation showed the 3D crystal growth of PET, which was further evidenced by polarized optical microscopy (POM). The second stage of degradation consumed a higher amount of thermal energy. The experimental results were compared with the literature values.

Functionalization of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) was carried out by two different methodology namely, aza-Michael addition and free radical reaction from the dehydrofluorinated PVDF. Functionalization agents like 2MI, CR, and indole were grafted onto KOH treated PVDF via aza-Michael addition reaction whereas MAH and MI were grafted onto the same via free radical reaction. The functionalized PVDF was characterized by FTIR, DSC, TGA, WCA measurement, SEM, and EDX. Further, the MAH grafted PVDF was doped with V 2 O 5 nanoparticles to form a catalytic membrane. Transesterification reaction (TER) was done using the PVDF-g-MAH/V 2 O 5 membrane but ended with negative results due to the low residential time. Hence, it was done in a conventional technique in the presence of pieces of membrane material as a template. The product with the red shift in the absorbance spectrum confirmed the TER.

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