Issue 22, 2020

Fast and controlled ring-opening polymerization of δ-valerolactone catalyzed by benzoheterocyclic urea/MTBD catalysts

Abstract

Aliphatic polyesters are a class of biorenewable, biocompatible, and biodegradable materials. The ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of lactones is one of the most powerful methods to access these materials. A novel series of benzoheterocyclic urea catalysts has been synthesized and characterized. When employed in the ROP of δ-valerolactone (δ-VL) in combination with 7-methyl-1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene (MTBD), a fast and “living”/controlled feature was observed in both solvent-free polymerization and solution polymerization, which was proved by kinetic and chain extension experiments. With benzyl alcohol as an initiator, polyvalerolactones (PVLs) were obtained with different molecular weights and narrow molecular weight distributions. In addition, the PVLs with different topological structures were prepared by varying the initiators. The structure and thermal properties of resulting polymers were determined by NMR, GPC and DSC analyses. A possible mechanism was also proposed on the basis of NMR analysis.

Graphical abstract: Fast and controlled ring-opening polymerization of δ-valerolactone catalyzed by benzoheterocyclic urea/MTBD catalysts

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 Aug 2020
Accepted
17 Sep 2020
First published
18 Sep 2020

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2020,10, 7555-7565

Fast and controlled ring-opening polymerization of δ-valerolactone catalyzed by benzoheterocyclic urea/MTBD catalysts

C. Ji, S. Jie, P. Braunstein and B. Li, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2020, 10, 7555 DOI: 10.1039/D0CY01551B

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