Supercritical RROP: Exploring the radical ring-opening polymerisation of 2-methylene-1,3,6-trioxocane in supercritical CO2 as a green solvent

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Fabian Mehner - , Chair of Organic Chemistry of Polymers, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Bradley Hopkins - , University of Nottingham (Author)
  • Morgan Reynolds-Green - , University of Nottingham (Author)
  • Daniel J. Keddie - , University of Nottingham (Author)
  • Steven M. Howdle - , University of Nottingham (Author)
  • Jens Gaitzsch - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)

Abstract

Radical ring opening polymerisation (RROP) of cyclic ketene acetals (CKAs) is an attractive technique to synthesize branched, (bio)degradable polyesters. However, CKAs as monomers of RROP suffer from hydrolysis lability, making aqueous heterogeneous precipitation polymerisations challenging. In order to explore the precipitation polymerisation of 2-methylene-1,3,6-trioxocane (MTC) and avoid the hydrolysis of monomer, kinetic studies in supercritical CO2 (scCO2) were performed. Tuning the reaction pressure and temperature allowed for synthesis in varying viscosity domains. Importantly, we describe the precipitation polymerisation of low Tg PMTC (−65 °C) in scCO2. In contrast to literature, where a particle-driven polymerisation mechanism has been described for high Tg polymers, a slurry-like precipitation polymerisation was observed for PMTC. Depending on the reaction temperature, polymers with either (i) a defined density of branches (DB) and a scattering of molar mass values, or (ii) a scattering of DB values and relatively defined molar mass were prepared.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number127373
JournalPolymer
Volume309
Publication statusPublished - 12 Sept 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Keywords

  • Branching, MTC, Polyester, RROP, scCO, scRROP