In light of the global plastic crisis, it is of urgency and importance to develop synthetic methods for degradable polymers. One approach to impart degradability into otherwise non-degradable polymers is incorporating functional groups susceptible to chain scission in the backbone. To this end, we examined the ring-opening copolymerization of a biomass-derived compound with various commodity monomers.<sup>1,2</sup> More specifically, thiocarbonyl L-lactide (SLA) was radically copolymerized with vinyl monomers such as methyl acrylate and styrene to afford vinyl polymers containing thioacetal and thioester linkages in the backbone. The precise control of the polymerization was achieved via the RAFT mechanism, and the effect of monomer/comonomer structures on copolymer compositions was probed. Owing to the presence of two distinct functionalities in the backbone, the resulting copolymers were shown to undergo two different types of main-chain scission under appropriate conditions. Additionally, the ring-opening copolymerization of SLA with other lactone monomers was explored for synthesizing aliphatic polyesters with improved degradability.

Ring-opening copolymerization of thiocarbonyl L-lactide for degradable polymers

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