Title: 

Unveiling the Mechanisms of Epoxide Polymerization with N—Al Adduct Catalysts: A Comprehensive Experimental and Theoretical Investigation

Year of Publication:

2023

Authors:

Niloofar Safaie, Austin Rodriguez, Gourhari Jana, Jessica Smak, Jose L Mendoza-Cortes, Robert C Ferrier Jr

Journal:

Polymer Chemistry

Abstract:

Polyethers are a technologically and industrially important class of polymers, often made from the ring opening polymerization of functional epoxide monomers. While there are several techniques available to polymerize epoxides, no one technique can claim to be a general epoxide polymerization platform in the same way that reversible addition fragmentation with chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization can be considered for vinyl-based monomers or ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) can be considered for cyclic olefins. Recent work by our group and others has demonstrated a general, tunable, and accessible epoxide polymerization platform featuring Earth-abundant aluminum-based compounds. While several epoxide polymerization methods feature aluminum, our method is distinct in feature set; providing control over kinetics, molecular weight, end group, architecture, and composition. However …

URL:

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2023/py/d3py00482a