Polyesters ring-opening polymerization

P. Lecomte, et al.. New prospects for the grafting of functional groups onto aliphatic polyesters. Ring-opening polymerization of a- or y-substituted e-caprolactone followed by chemical derivatiza-tion of the substituents. Macromol. Symp. 240 (2006) 157-165, doi 10.1002/masy.200650820. 

Even within the small numbers of studies conducted to date, we are already seeing potentially dramatic effects. Free radical polymerization proceeds at a much faster rate and there is already evidence that both the rate of propagation and the rate of termination are effected. Whole polymerization types - such as ring-opening polymerization to esters and amides, and condensation polymerization of any type (polyamides, polyesters, for example) - have yet to be attempted in ionic liquids. This field is in its infancy and we look forward to the coming years with great anticipation. 

The ring-opening polymerization of ketene acetals (45, X=0) provides a novel route to polyesters and many examples have now been reported (Scheme 4.27). " "7 A disadvantage of these systems is the marked acid sensitivity of the monomers which makes them relatively difficult to handle and complicates characterization. This area is covered by a series of reviews by Bailey ct a/.177 228 ... 

Poly(f -caprolactone) (PCL), the most representative member of this polyester family, is obtained by the ring-opening polymerization of e-caprolactone. It is a low-7 (60°C), low-Tg (—60°C) semicrystalline polyester that presents mechanical properties resembling those of low-density polyethylene (Table 2.10). 

Polyesters from the Ring-Opening Polymerization of Cyclic Esters... 

In polyester synthesis via ring-opening polymerizations, metal catalysts are often used. For medical applications of polyesters, however, there has been concern about harmful effects of the metallic residues. Enzymatic synthesis of a metal-free polyester was demonstrated by the polymerization of l,4-dioxan-2-one using Candida antarctica lipase (lipase CA). Under appropriate reaction conditions, the high molecular weight polymer (molecular weight = 4.1 x 10" ) was obtained. 

Optically active polyesters were synthesized by lipase CA-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of racemic 4-methyl or ethyl-e-caprolactone. The (5 )-isomer was enantioselectively polymerized to produce the polyester with >95% ee. Quantitative reactivity of 4-substituted e-caprolactone using lipase CA as catalyst was analyzed. The polymerization rate decreased by a factor of 2 upon the introduction of a methyl substitutent at the 4-position. Furthermore, 4-ethyl-8-caprolactone polymerized five times slower than the 4-methyl-8-caprolactone. This reactivity difference is strongly related to the enantioselectivity. Interestingly, lipase CA displayed 5 -selectivity for 4-methyl or ethyl-8-caprolactone, and the enantioselectivity was changed to the (f )-enantiomer in the case of 4-propyl-8-caprolactone. 

Reactive polyesters were enzymatically synthesized. Lipase catalysis chemoselecfively induced the ring-opening polymerization of a lactone having exo-methylene group to produce a polyester having the reactive exo-methylene group in the main chain (Scheme 16). This is in contrast to the anionic... 

Mecerreyes, A, Dubois, P and Jerdme, R. Novel Macromolecular Architectures Based on Aliphatic Polyesters Relevance of the Coordination-Insertion Ring-Opening Polymerization. VoL 147, pp. 1 -60. 

Polyester syntheses have been achieved by enzymatic ring-opening polymerization of lactide and lactones with various ring-sizes. Here, we focus not only on these cyclic esters but also other cyclic monomers for lipase-catalyzed ringopening polymerizations. Figure 8 summarizes cyclic monomers for providing polyesters via lipase catalysis. 

An alcohol could initiate the ring-opening polymerization of lactones by lipase catalyst ( initiator method ). In the lipase CA-catalyzed polymerization of DDL using 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate as initiator, the methacryloyl group was quantitatively introduced at the polymer terminal, yielding the methacryl-type polyester macromonomer [98]. This methodology was expanded to synthesis of co-alkenyl- and alkynyl-type macromonomers by using 5-hexen-l-ol and 5-hexyn-l-ol as initiator. 

Here, lipase-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of cyclic compounds giving polymers other than polyesters is described. l,3-Dioxan-2-one, six-membered cyclic carbonate, was polymerized in the presence of lipase catalysts (Fig. 13)... 

Uyama H, Kobayashi S (1996) Enzymatic ring-opening polymerization of macrolides to polyesters. In Yalpani M (ed) Biomedical functions and biotechnology of natural and artificial polymers. ATL Press, Schrewsbury, p 5... 

Matsumura S. Enzymatic Synthesis of Polyesters via Ring-Opening Polymerization. Vol. 194, pp. 95-132. 

Poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate)s have potential for application to engineering plastics endowed with biodegradable nature. One of the synthetic approaches to the polyesters is the ring-opening polymerization of -substituted /3-lactones which can be effectively produced by ring-expansion carbonylation of epox-... 

Treatment of this monomer with benzoyl peroxide gave a high molecular weight polyester by a free radical ring-opening polymerization which can be rationalized by the accompanying scheme. The structure of the polyester IV was established by analysis and hydrolysis as well as infrared and NMR spectroscopy. 

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