Controlled ring-opening polymerization of epsilon-caprolactone using polymer-supported scandium catalyst

POLY 162

Akinori Takasu, takasu.akinori@nitech.ac.jp, Miyuki Oshimura, takasu.akinori@nitech.ac.jp, and Tadamichi Hirabayashi, takasu.akinori@nitech.ac.jp. Department of Environmental Technology and Urban Planning, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8555, Japan
We described the ROP of epsilon-caprolactone using a polymer-supported catalyst under mild conditions. This breakthrough has made it possible to synthesize poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) (Mn=4.1–7.9 × 103 ) with narrow polydispersity (Mw/Mn=1.12–1.18). These results indicated that PS-Sc catalyzed living polymerizations of epsilon-caprolactone as well as Sc(OTf)3. The propagation rates were comparable to that catalyzed by Sc(OTf)3. The Arrhenius equation was used to investigate the kinetics. After polymerization, the catalyst was easily recovered quantitatively. The recovered catalyst can be reused for ROP. Development of a polymer-supported catalyst is extremely effective for environmentally friendly material design.
 

General Papers: Functional Materials
6:00 PM-8:00 PM, Sunday, August 19, 2007 BCEC -- Exhibit Hall - B2, Poster

Division of Polymer Chemistry

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007