Synthesis of poly(lactic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol) copolymers using multi-SO3H-functionalized ionic liquid as the efficient and reusable catalyst

Hui Xue Ren, Han Jie Ying, You Min Sun, Dao Ji Wu, Yong Shan Ma, Xiao Feng Wei

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Poly(lactic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol) copolymers were synthesized under the catalysis of multi-SO3H-functionalized ionic liquid. Compared to the ordinary ionic liquids and the traditional Lewis acid catalysts, the ionic liquids with multi-sulfonic acid groups were more catalytically active, and the reaction conversion rate reached up to 97.8 %. The molecular weight of the resulting copolymer was 5.69 × 104 g mol-1 and the degree of crystallinity was 42.9 %. The copolymers were also of higher hydrophilicity and better mechanical properties. The reaction kinetics of copolymerization was analyzed. The intrinsically high catalytic activity of multi-SO3H groups originated from the lower activation energy and the higher free acidity. The recovering catalytic activity of the multi-SO 3H ionic liquid catalyst was higher, suggesting that it is a recyclable, environmentally friendly catalyst.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1173-1195
Number of pages23
JournalPolymer Bulletin
Volume71
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2014

Keywords

  • Efficient
  • Ionic liquid
  • PLA-PEG
  • Recycle

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