The development of functional polymers is central to advancement in fields such as drug delivery, complex sensors, and microelectronics. Unfortunately, current polyester syntheses possess several disadvantages: the step-growth copolymerization of diols and diesters requires high heat and vacuum removal of small molecule byproducts, and the ring opening polymerization of lactones is limited in scope due to a lack of monomer diversity. An alternative route that has received little attention is the copolymerization of lactones and epoxides. Previous examples show that this reaction gives either homopolymers or low molecular weight copolymers. We report the alternating ring-opening copolymerization of epoxides with lactones using metal-based catalysts. This process represents a significant advance over previously reported processes, as it gives access to a variety of highly alternating polyesters with high molecular weights and low molecular weight distributions.

Alternating copolymerization of lactones and epoxides with metal-based catalysts: A new route to functional polyesters

248th National Meeting (2014)

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