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High Molecular Weight Poly( L ‐lactide) and its Microsphere Synthesized in the Supercritical Dimethyl Ether
Author(s) -
Yoon Cheol Soo,
Park Hyun Deok,
Kim Se Yoon,
Kim Soo Hyun
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
macromolecular symposia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.257
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-3900
pISSN - 1022-1360
DOI - 10.1002/masy.200750429
Subject(s) - supercritical fluid , monomer , lactide , polymerization , polymer chemistry , solvent , materials science , ring opening polymerization , molar mass distribution , ether , chemical engineering , polymer , chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering
Abstract The ring‐opening polymerization of L‐lactide initiated by stannous octoate was carried out in supercritical dimethylether(scDME) at various reaction conditions (time and temperature). The monomer conversion increased to ca. 90% on increasing the reaction time to 1hr. The molecular weight of the poly(L‐lactide)(PLLA) also increased to ca. 160,000 g · mol −1 over the same period. Increasing reaction temperature from 118 to 135 °C or reaction pressure from 280 to 520 bar resulted in increased monomer conversion and molecular weight. After the polymerization, PLLA microspheres were prepared in situ by using a continuous supercritical anti‐solvent process without residual organic solvent.