Enzymatic Continuous Flow Synthesis of Thiol-Terminated Poly(δ-Valerolactone) and Block Copolymers

Abstract

Thiol-terminated poly(δ-valerolactone) is directly synthesized via enzymatic 6-mercapto-1-hexanol initiated ring-opening polymerization in both batch and microreactor. By using Candida antartica Lipase B immobilized tubular reactor, narrowly dispersed poly(δ-valerolactone) with higher thiol fidelity is more efficiently prepared in contrast to the batch reactor. Moreover, the integrated enzyme packed tubular reactor system is established to perform the chain extension experiments. Thiol-terminated poly(δ-valerolactone)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) and poly(ε-caprolactone)-block-poly(δ-valerolactone) are easily prepared by modulating the monomer introduction sequence.

Keywords: enzymes; microreactors; poly(δ-valerolactone); ring-opening polymerization; thiols.