Recent advances in metallo/organo-catalyzed immortal ring-opening polymerization of cyclic carbonates

Abstract

The ring-opening polymerization of cyclic carbonate monomers derived from biomass feedstocks constitutes an attractive way to prepare polycarbonates that are potentially useful as high-tech materials or commodity “bioplastics”. This process can be catalyzed by inherently different systems ranging from simple basic organocatalysts, simple Lewis acidic metallic salts such as triflates, or more sophisticated discrete metallo-organic complexes derived from oxophilic metals (zinc, yttrium). In this perspective, the most recent achievements in this chemistry are reviewed. The quite different performances within reach of those catalytic systems, which are assessed in terms of intrinsic reactivity, robustness and regioselectivity towards dissymmetric monomers, are highlighted.