Due to the numerous applications of polytrimethylene carbonate (polyTMC), especially in the medical field, devising an effective and cost effective method for the synthesis of polyTMC is an important area of research. In this study, two previously reported bimetallic zinc and magnesium catalysts were synthezised used for the catalytic ring opening polymerization of trimethylene carbonate (TMC). Primarily, the effect of temperature on catalyst activity was examined, with a maximum percent conversion of about 67% at 90 °C using the bimetallic magnesium catalyst. In addition to studying the temperature effect, the polymerizations were performed both with and without solvent in order to assess the prospect of implementing a more environmentally neat polymerization. Recent results regarding the ring-opening polymerization of 2,2-dimethoxy-1,3-dioxane, a TMC analogue derived from dihydroxyacetone, will also be discussed.

Ring opening polymerization of six membered cyclic carbonates using bimetallic catalysts

250th National Meeting (2015)

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