Ring-opening polymerization of lactones using supramolecular organocatalysts under simple conditions
Résumé
Ring-opening polymerizations of delta-valerolactone (delta-VL) and epsilon-caprolactone (epsilon-CL) were catalyzed by a metal-free system composed of two H-bonding components, a phenol derivative to activate the monomer, and DBU, which enhanced the nucleophilicity of the initiator and the propagating chain. Compared to other H-bonding systems for the ROP of lactones, phenol + DBU catalysts had the practical advantages of being commercially available and inexpensive, efficient at room temperature and under simple experimental conditions that avoid drying of reactants and the use of a glove-box. In addition, the obtained polyesters had a narrow dispersion of molar masses which were controlled by the concentration ratio of monomer versus initiator. Moreover, the initiation of the polymerization by DBU and residual water molecules (despite no specific drying of reagents) was shown to be very minor under the experimental conditions. No initiation by the phenol catalysts was observed. Block copolyesters PVL-PLA and PCL-PLA were also prepared using these conditions.