Synthesis of Polyglycolic Acid Copolymers from Cationic Copolymerization of C1 Feedstocks and Long Chain Epoxides

In this study; to improve on the physical properties of PGA, such as melting temperature and solubility, polymerizations of trioxane, CO and a minor amount of epoxides with long side chains were performed under the same reaction condition as PGA homopolymer synthesis (DCM solvent, at 800 psi, with triflic acid catalyst, reaction time of 72 h). The results have shown that optimum polymerizations were achieved at lower reaction temperatures than that of PGA homopolymer synthesis (110 oC versus 170 oC). The melting temperatures of all copolymers are lower, and the colors of the copolymers have become lighter than that of PGA homopolymer. The solubilities of obtained copolymers also increased by increasing side chain length of epoxides in the polymer backbone.
Source: Journal of Saudi Chemical Society - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research