Amidine-Mediated Zwitterionic
Polymerization of Lactide
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Abstract
The ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of lactide with
DBU (1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]
undec-7-ene) is described. Room temperature polymerization using the
neutral amine catalyst DBU in the absence of any other initiator produces
polymers with narrow polydispersities and shows a linear relationship
between molecular weight and conversion. The resulting polymers were
characterized and determined to be cyclic. DFT calculations support
a mechanistic hypothesis involving a zwitterionic acyl amidinium intermediate