Synthesis and degradation of aliphatic poly (ester carbonate) copolymers using novel chloroformates

Abstract

Poster project completed at Wichita State University, Department of Chemistry and BiochemistryPresented at the 22nd Annual Capitol Graduate Research Summit, Topeka, KS, March 25, 2025.Aliphatic polyesters and polycarbonates have been widely investigated due to their biodegradability, which is important for both biomaterials and sustainable plastics. We are exploring the synthesis and copolymerization of the new aliphatic monomer, 2- (chlorocarbonyl)ethyl chloroformate (CFEO), and its chlorinated analog Cl- CFEO. Both CFEO and Cl-CFEO have two reactive functional groups that will react with diols to produce alternating poly (ester carbonate)s under conditions that allow the more reactive acid chloride group to react before the chloroformate group, or statistical copolymers when both functional groups can react. In addition to developing copolymerization reactions, this presentation will compare the hydrolytic stability of the alternating and statistical copolymers and their corresponding polyester and polycarbonate analogs under basic and enzymatic conditions and then will discuss the implications of these properties in medical and biodegradable applications