Abstract
Copolymerization of propylene oxide (PO)/carbon dioxide (CO2) and lactide (LA) is achievable to form new copolymers, combining the advantages of both poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) and polylactide (PLA). In this study, we designed a dinuclear Salen-Cr(III) complex, which showed higher efficiency for copolymerization of PO/CO2 and LA than that of mononuclear Salen-Cr(III) complex. Besides, we successfully obtained gradient and random copolymers of PPC-PLA in one pot. Furthermore, by adjusting reaction temperature, block ratios of PPC/PLA in copolymers were controllable (block ratio of PPC/PLA=1.0 at 40 °C, while block ratio of PPC/PLA=0.5 at room temperature). While increasing the reaction temperature to 60 °C, conversion of LA was much faster than that of PO so that gradient copolymers were obtained.
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Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2021YFA1501700), the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Basic Science Center Program (No. 51988102) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52073272).
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Copolymerization of PO/CO2 and Lactide by a Dinuclear Salen-Cr(III) Complex: Gradient and Random Copolymers with Modificable Microstructure
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Liang, ZZ., Li, X., Hu, CY. et al. Copolymerization of PO/CO2 and Lactide by a Dinuclear Salen-Cr(III) Complex: Gradient and Random Copolymers with Modificable Microstructure. Chin J Polym Sci 40, 1028–1033 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-022-2727-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-022-2727-z