Poly(ω-pentadecalactone)- b-poly(l-lactide) Block Copolymers via Organic-Catalyzed Ring Opening Polymerization and Potential Applications

Richard Todd; Sarah Tempelaar; Giada Lo Re; Stephen Spinella; Scott A McCallum; Richard A Gross; Jean-Marie Raquez; Philippe Dubois

doi:10.1021/acsmacrolett.5b00021

Poly(ω-pentadecalactone)- b-poly(l-lactide) Block Copolymers via Organic-Catalyzed Ring Opening Polymerization and Potential Applications

ACS Macro Lett. 2015 Apr 21;4(4):408-411. doi: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.5b00021. Epub 2015 Mar 25.

Authors

Richard Todd¹, Sarah Tempelaar¹, Giada Lo Re¹, Stephen Spinella^{1

2}, Scott A McCallum², Richard A Gross², Jean-Marie Raquez¹, Philippe Dubois¹

Affiliations

¹ Centre of Innovation and Research in Materials & Polymers CIRMAP, Laboratory of Polymeric and Composite Materials, University of Mons, Place du Parc 23, B-7000 Mons, Belgium.
² Department of Chemistry and Biology, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 4005B BioTechnology Building, 110 Eighth Street, Troy, New York 12180, United States.

PMID: 35596329
DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.5b00021

Abstract

Poly(pentadecalactone)-b-poly(l-lactide) (PPDL-b-PLLA) diblock copolymers were prepared via the organic catalyzed ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of l-lactide (l-LA) from PPDL macroinitiators using either 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) or 1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene (TBD). Synthesis of PLLA blocks targeting degrees of polymerization (DP) up to 500 were found to yield diblock copolymers with crystalline PPDL and PLLA segments when TBD was used as the catalyst. The synthesis was further improved in a one-pot, two-step process using the same TBD catalyst for the synthesis of both segments. The application of these diblock copolymers as a compatibilizing agents resulted in homogenization of a biobased PLLA/poly(ω-hydroxytetradecanoate) (90:10) blend upon a melt-process, yielding enhanced material properties.