The perfectly alternating ring-opening copolymerization (ROCOP) of epoxides and cyclic anhydrides is a promising and emerging route towards the synthesis of biodegradable polyester materials that could replace some of today’s non-degradable polymers. The accessibility of many epoxide and cyclic anhydride monomers has led to the synthesis of polyesters having a wide range of glass transition temperatures (with current literature reporting <i>T<sub>g</sub></i>’s from -44–184 °C). However, current catalyst design is not able to address all the needs for commercialization, including industrially relevant rates, selectivity, prevention of side reactions and versatility for numerous monomers. Rare earth metal complexes have been useful catalysts for a wide range of polymerization reactions, with both polar and nonpolar monomers. The choice in ligand environment and metal ion has been shown to influence the rare earth metal catalyst’s reactivity towards numerous substrates. This versatility makes rare earth metal complexes perfectly suited to be tunable for the wide range of available monomers for the ROCOP of epoxides and cyclic anhydrides. With the use of simple, easy to synthesize ligands, rare earth metal catalysts have been identified as versatile active catalysts for the ROCOP of epoxides and cyclic anhydrides. The impacts of ligand structure, cocatalyst, metal ion and monomer choice on the polymerization rate and control will be discussed.

Rare earth metal catalysts for the perfectly alternating copolymerization of epoxides and cyclic anhydrides

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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