Issue 18, 2021

Photocontrolled lactide ROP by the light-regulated release of potassium acetate from an azobenzene-bridged crown ether

Abstract

An azobenzene-bridged 15-crown-5 ether (1) was successfully used as a photoswitchable cocatalyst for modulating the catalytic activity of potassium acetate (KOAc) in the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of L-lactide (L-LA) when initiated from an exogenous alcohol. By alternating exposure to daylight and UV light, 1 transforms the K+,OAc ion pair-like in free ions “on-demand”, resulting in an effective form of the catalytic complex. This allows the modulation of the L-LA ROP speed, switching the process from a slow to a fast state.

Graphical abstract: Photocontrolled lactide ROP by the light-regulated release of potassium acetate from an azobenzene-bridged crown ether

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
16 Jun 2021
Accepted
26 Aug 2021
First published
26 Aug 2021

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2021,11, 6048-6052

Photocontrolled lactide ROP by the light-regulated release of potassium acetate from an azobenzene-bridged crown ether

Q. De Roover, T. Vucko, S. P. Vincent, J. De Winter and O. Coulembier, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2021, 11, 6048 DOI: 10.1039/D1CY01071A

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