Ring-opening copolymerization (ROCOP): synthesis and properties of polyesters and polycarbonates

Abstract

Controlled routes to prepare polyesters and polycarbonates are of interest due to the widespread application of these materials and the opportunities provided to prepare new copolymers. Furthermore, ring-opening copolymerization may enable new poly(ester-carbonate) materials to be prepared which are inaccessible using alternative polymerizations. This review highlights recent advances in the ring-opening copolymerization catalysis, using epoxides coupled with anhydrides or CO2, to produce polyesters and polycarbonates. In particular, the structures and performances of various homogeneous catalysts are presented for the epoxide-anhydride copolymerization. The properties of the resultant polyesters and polycarbonates are presented and future opportunities highlighted for developments of both the materials and catalysts.

Efficient Catalytic System Involving Molybdenyl Acetylacetonate and Immobilized Tributylammonium Chloride for the Direct Synthesis of Cyclic Carbonates from Carbon Dioxide and Olefins

“…In contrast, Arai et al found that the addition of carbon dioxide to the first reaction step results in improved yield both SO and SC [11]. A low yield of styrene carbonate was obtained possibly due to the fact that the epoxidation of styrene in the presence of CO 2 could allow the formation of the linear oligomers and polycarbonates, which in turn could impede the subsequent reaction of carbon dioxide with in situ formed epoxide [22,23]. Therefore, in the next experiment, CO 2 was added to the reactor in the second step of the process.…”

New Coordination Complexes Based on the 2,6-bis[1-(Phenylimino)ethyl] Pyridine Ligand: Effective Catalysts for the Synthesis of Propylene Carbonates from Carbon Dioxide and Epoxides

“…The chemical fixation and conversion of carbon dioxide into valuable chemicals is generally regarded as an excellent method from both the environmental protection and resource utilization standpoints [1,2,3,4,5]. As a naturally abundant, cheap, recyclable, and nontoxic carbon source, carbon dioxide has been involved in various organic reactions, especially the cycloaddition of epoxides with carbon dioxide to produce carbonates [6,7,8,9,10,11]. This reaction is a standard “atom-economy” and “green-chemistry” reaction to produce environmentally-friendly propylene carbonate that is widely utilized as a special solvent in many chemical industries such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), the textile printing industry, lithium batteries, and wood processing [12,13,14,15].…”

Alternating copolymerization of CHO and MA catalyzed by the hetero-bimetallic Zn-Yb-Salen complex

“…In comparison with the widespread concern on the coupling of epoxide and CO 2 to from polyester [1] with good biodegradability and biocompatibility, the alternative approach [2] from the ring-opening copolymerization of epoxide with anhydride is not popular enough probably due to a missing gag on the greenhouse gas consumption. Nonetheless, the availability of structurally diverse anhydrides enables a wider variety of polymeric backbones for the obtained polyesters with potential applications in commodity materials [3] and biological materials [4].…”