Waste not, want not: CO2 (re)cycling into block polymers

Chem Commun (Camb). 2019 Jun 20;55(51):7315-7318. doi: 10.1039/c9cc02459j.

Abstract

A new way to combine two different polymerisation reactions, using a single catalyst, results in efficient block polymer synthesis. The selective polymerisation of mixtures of l-lactide-O-carboxyanhydride and cyclohexene oxide, using a di-zinc catalyst in a one-pot procedure, allows the preparation of poly(l-lactide-b-cyclohexene carbonate). The catalysis near quantitatively recycles the carbon dioxide released during polyester formation into the subsequent polycarbonate block, with an atom economy of up to of 91%.