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Living Coordination Polymerization of a Six‐Five Bicyclic Lactone to Produce Completely Recyclable Polyester
Author(s) -
Zhu JianBo,
Chen Eugene Y.X.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201808003
Subject(s) - depolymerization , polymerization , polyester , catalysis , thermal stability , living polymerization , polymer , lactone , selectivity , copolymer , polymer chemistry , materials science , chemistry , organic chemistry , radical polymerization
The development of chemically recyclable polymers promises a closed‐loop approach towards a circular plastic economy but still faces challenges in structure/property diversity and depolymerization selectivity. Here we report the first successful coordination ring‐opening polymerization of 4,5‐ trans ‐cyclohexyl‐fused γ‐butyrolactone ( M1 ) with lanthanide catalysts at room temperature, producing P( M1 ) with M n up to 89 kg mol −1 , high thermal stability, and a linear or cyclic topology. The same catalyst also catalyses selective depolymerization of P( M1 ) back to M1 exclusively at 120 °C. This coordination polymerization is also living, enabling the synthesis of well‐defined block copolymer.