Feng Z, Wu L, Dong H, Liu B, Cheng R. Copolyesters of ε-caprolactone and l-lactide catalyzed by a tetrabutylammonium phthalimide-
N-oxyl organocatalyst.
RSC Adv 2021;
11:19021-19028. [PMID:
35478625 PMCID:
PMC9033473 DOI:
10.1039/d1ra02417e]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Aliphatic polyesters are biocompatible materials that can be used in biomedical applications. We report here the use of tetrabutylammonium phthalimide-N-oxyl catalyst (TBAPINO), as a thermally stable organocatalyst for the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of cyclic esters under mild conditions. In the solution ROP of ε-caprolactone (ε-CL), quantitative conversion and M n of ∼20 000 g mol-1 are achieved in a wide temperature range from -15 to 60 °C. Under bulk condition, the conversion of ε-CL reaches over 85% at 120 °C within 2 h. The living ROP character of l-lactide (l-LA) catalyzed over TBAPINO is proved by multiple additions of monomer in the bulk polymerization. The catalyst shows comparable selectivity towards the ring-opening polymerization of l-LA and ε-CL. Their copolymerization over TBAPINO is carried out in one-pot bulk condition in terms of the reaction time, monomer feed ratio, and sequence of addition. The colorless poly(ε-caprolactone-co-lactide) (PCLA) is obtained with considerable conversion of both monomers with the M n over 22 000 g mol-1.
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