Stereoretention in the Bulk ROP of l-Lactide Guided by a Thermally Stable Organocatalyst.

Polylactide (PLA) has emerged as one of the most promising bio-based alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, mainly because it can be produced from the fermentation of naturally occurring sugars and because it can be industrially compostable. In spite of these benefits, the industrial ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of l-lactide (L-LA) still requires the use of highly active and thermally stable metal-based catalysts, which have raised some environmental concerns. While the excellent balance between activity and functional group compatibility of organic acid catalysts makes them some of the most suitable catalysts for the metal-free ROP of L-LA, the majority of these acids are highly volatile and subject to decomposition at high temperature, which limits their use under industrially relevant conditions.

Dual Organocatalysts Based on Ionic Mixtures of Acids and Bases: A Step Toward High Temperature Polymerizations.

Organocatalysis provides a powerful alternative in many polymerization reactions and nowadays has become a valuable tool for polymer chemists. The key reason for transitioning to organocatalysts is not only their ability to be effectively removed from resultant products, but also, their potential to exquisitely control the catalytic activity and selectivity of the polymerization processes. While organocatalysis has been largely implemented in research laboratories, its use in industrial bulk polymerization processes is still scarce.

Effect of Chemical Structure and Salt Concentration on the Crystallization and Ionic Conductivity of Aliphatic Polyethers.

Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) is the most widely used polymer in the field of solid polymer electrolytes for batteries. It is well known that the crystallinity of polymer electrolytes strongly affects the ionic conductivity and its electrochemical performance. Nowadays, alternatives to PEO are actively researched in the battery community, showing higher ionic conductivity, electrochemical window, or working temperature range.

Enantioselective Ring-Opening Polymerization of rac-Lactide Dictated by Densely Substituted Amino Acids.

Organocatalysis is becoming an important tool in polymer science because of its versatility and specificity. To date a limited number of organic catalysts have demonstrated the ability to promote stereocontrolled polymerizations. In this work we report one of the first examples of chirality transfer from a catalyst to a polymer in the organocatalyzed ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of rac-lactide (rac-LA).