Lipase-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of molecularly pure cyclic oligomers for use in synthesis and chemical recycling of aliphatic polyesters

The lipase-catalyzed ROP of molecularly pure cyclic oligomers with a definite degree of oligomerization is analyzed with respect to the molecular weights of the resulting polymers and certain kinetic parameters of the enzymatic reaction. Cyclic BA dimers, trimers, and tetramers polymerize faster than the equivalent monomer; however, the latter produces PBA of significantly higher molecular weight. The reason is that the ring opening of the cyclic monomer is slow, leading to a lower initiator concentration than that produced by the cyclic BA dimer and trimer. Similarly, the cyclic BS dimer produces PBS of higher molecular weight than that obtained from the cyclic BS trimer. A graph is presented.