Issue 5, 2021

Ortho-vanillin derived Al(iii) and Co(iii) catalyst systems for switchable catalysis using ε-decalactone, phthalic anhydride and cyclohexene oxide

Abstract

Switchable catalysis is a useful one-pot method to prepare block polyesters utilising a single catalyst exposed to a mixture of monomers. The catalyst is switched between lactone ring-opening polymerization (ROP) and epoxide/anhydride ring-opening copolymerization (ROCOP) by controlling its chain-end chemistry. Here, novel aluminium(III) (1) and cobalt(III) complexes (2), coordinated by ortho-vanillin derived salen ligands, show excellent switchable catalytic activity and selectivity for the preparation of poly(ε-decalactone-block-cyclohexene phthalate-block-ε-decalactone) [PDL-b-PCHPE-b-PDL]. Both complexes have competitive activities with a commercial chromium salen catalyst for epoxide/anhydride ROCOP (TOFCr(III) = 1200 h−1vs. TOFAl(III) = 350 h−1, 1 mol% catalyst loading vs. anhydride, 100 °C) and are significantly more active than the commercial catalyst for lactone ROP (TOFcr(III) = 3 h−1vs. TOFAl(III) = 300 h−1; 0.5 mol% catalyst loading vs. lactone, T = 100 °C). The catalysts are tolerant to low loadings (0.1 mol% vs. anhydride, 0.05% vs. lactone) and produce high molar mass triblock polyesters (Mn = 6–57 kg mol−1). The efficient production of high molar mass polyesters allows for future optimization of the block polyester thermal–mechanical properties and applications.

Graphical abstract: Ortho-vanillin derived Al(iii) and Co(iii) catalyst systems for switchable catalysis using ε-decalactone, phthalic anhydride and cyclohexene oxide

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
07 nov 2020
Accepted
21 dez 2020
First published
12 jan 2021

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2021,11, 1737-1745

Ortho-vanillin derived Al(III) and Co(III) catalyst systems for switchable catalysis using ε-decalactone, phthalic anhydride and cyclohexene oxide

W. T. Diment, T. Stößer, R. W. F. Kerr, A. Phanopoulos, C. B. Durr and C. K. Williams, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2021, 11, 1737 DOI: 10.1039/D0CY02164D

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements