TY - JOUR A1 - Weidner, Steffen A1 - Meyer, A. A1 - Kricheldorf, H. R. T1 - Sn(II)2-ethylhexanoate-catalyzed polymerizations of L-lactide in solution – Solution grown crystals of cyclic Poly(L-Lactide)s N2 - L-lactide (LA) was polymerized in toluene by means of neat tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate (SnOct2). Concentration, time and temperature were varied. The isothermally crystallized polyLAs (PLA) were characterized in the virgin state with regard to topology, molar mass, melting temperature (Tm), crystal modification, high or low Tm morphology, crystallinity and crystal thickness. Even a small amount of solvent favored cyclization relative to polymerization in bulk, so that cyclic polylactides were obtained at 115 ◦C and even at 95 ◦C. At all temperatures the α-modification of PLA was obtained along with crystallinities up to 90%. With 6 M solution the high Tm morphology with Tm’s > 190 ◦C was obtained at 115 ◦C. The crystal thickness of crystallites grown from solution at 115 ◦C was on the average 10–20% higher than that of PLA polymerized in bulk. At a polymerization temperature of 75 ◦C cyclization was incomplete and fewer perfect crystallites were formed. A new hypothesis for the crystal growth of cyclic polyLAs is proposed. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Crystalinity KW - Polymerization PY - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2022.125142 SN - 0032-3861 VL - 255 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford AN - OPUS4-55283 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kricheldorf, H. A1 - Weidner, Steffen A1 - Meyer, A. T1 - Ring-expansion polymerization (REP) of L-lactide with cyclic tin catalysts – About formation of extended ring crystals and optimization of Tm and ΔHm N2 - L-Lactide was polymerized in bulk at 140 °C with three different cyclic tin catalysts and the time was varied from 1 d up to 14 d. The MALDI TOF spectra confirmed the formation of cyclic polylactides (PLAs) and displayed a characteristic change of peak intensity distribution with formation of a “saw tooth pattern”. This pattern confirms a previous hypothesis that cyclic PLAs tend to form crystallites with extended ring conformation and relatively smooth surface. This type of crystallites is formed under thermodynamic control by transesterification on the surface of the crystallites. In this way PLAs with extraordinarily high melting temperatures (Tm's up to 200.6 °C) and extraordinarily high melting enthalpy were obtained (ΔHm's up to 105 J g−1). These ΔHm values require a revision of the maximum ΔHm value calculated in the literature for ideal PLA crystals. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - ring-expansion polymerization PY - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2022.125516 SN - 0032-3861 VL - 263 SP - 125516 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-56338 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kricheldorf, H. R. A1 - Weidner, Steffen A1 - Meyer, A. T1 - About the Influence of (Non-)Solvents on the Ring Expansion Polymerization of l-Lactide and the Formation of Extended Ring Crystals N2 - Ring-expansion polymerizations (REPs) catalyzed by two cyclic tin catalysts(2-stanna-1.3-dioxa-4,5,6,7-dibenzazepine [SnBiph] and 2,2-dibutyl-2-stanna-1,3-dithiolane [DSTL) are performed at 140 °C in bulk. Small amounts (4 vol%) of chlorobenzene or other solvents are added to facilitate transesterification reactions (ring–ring equilibration) in the solid poly(l-lactide)s. In the mass range up to m/z 13 000 crystalline PLAs displaying a so-called saw-tooth pattern in the MALDI-TOF mass spectra are obtained indicating the formation of extended-ring crystals. The characteristics of extended-ring crystallites and folded-ring crystallites are discussed. Furthermore, extremely high melting temperatures (Tm’s up to 201.2 °C) and melting enthalpies (𝚫Hm’s up to 106 J g−1)) are found confirming that 𝚫Hmmax, the 𝚫Hm of a perfect crystal, is around or above 115 J g−1 in contrast to literature data. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Ring-expansion polymerization KW - Crystals PY - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-565038 SN - 1022-1352 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Wiley VHC-Verlag AN - OPUS4-56503 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kricheldorf, H. R. A1 - Weidner, Steffen T1 - Synthesis of polylactides by means of tin catalysts N2 - This article reviews the usefulness of tin(II) and tin(IV) salts and compounds as catalysts for the polymerization of lactides. The text is subdivided into nine parts mainly reflecting different polymerization strategies, such as ring-opening polymerization (ROP), ring-expansion polymerization (REP), ROP combined with simultaneous polycondensation (ROPPOC), various catalysts with unknown polymerization mechanisms, and polycondensation of lactic acid. Since the toxicity of tin salts and compounds is a matter of concern and frequently mentioned in numerous publications, the first section deals with facts instead of myths about the toxicity of tin salts and compounds. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Tin catalysts PY - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-545050 SP - 1 EP - 30 PB - Royal Society for Chemistry AN - OPUS4-54505 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kricheldorf, H. R. A1 - Weidner, Steffen A1 - Falkenhagen, Jana T1 - The role of transesterifications in reversible polycondensations and a reinvestigation of the Jacobson-Beckmann-Stockmayer experiments N2 - The polycondensations of adipic acid and 1,10-decanediol catalyzed by toluene sulfonic acid (TSA) were reinvestigated using MALDI TOF mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. Unexpected reactions of TSA were detected along with incomplete conversion of the monomers. Furthermore, transesterification reactions of end-capped poly(1,10-decanediol adipate) and end-capped poly(ε-caprolactone) catalyzed by TSA were studied. Despite the quite different (ionic) reaction mechanisms, it was found that for polycondensations performed in bulk intermolecular transesterification is more efficient than the intramolecular “back-biting”; this scenario was not considered in the Jacobson–Stockmayer theory of reversible polycondensations. These results also confirm that the Jacobson–Stockmayer explanation of reversible polycondensations solely on the basis of ring chain equilibration is not only devoid of any experimental evidence, but also in contradiction to the results elaborated in this work. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Polycondensation PY - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-543402 SN - 1759-9962 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - RSC Publ. CY - Cambridge AN - OPUS4-54340 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kricheldorf, H. R. A1 - Weidner, Steffen A1 - Scheliga, F. T1 - SnOct2-catalyzed and alcohol-initiated ROPS of L-lactide - Control of the molecular weight and the role of cyclization N2 - Ring-opening polymerizations (ROP) of l-lactide (LA) are conducted in bulk at 130, 160, or 180 °C and are initiated with two different alcohols at 160 °C. The lactide/initiator ratio (LA/In) is varied from 50/1 (20/1 at 180 °C) to 900/1 and the lactide/catalyst ratio (LA/Cat) between 2000/1 and 8000/1. At all temperatures a nearly perfect control of number average molecular weight (Mn) via the LA/In ratio is feasible up to LA/In = 200/1, but at higher ratios the Mn value lags behind the theoretical values and the discrepancy increases with higher LA/Cat ratios. Variation of the LA/Cat ratio influences the formation of cycles but does not significantly influence Mn, when the LA/In ratio is kept constant. The formation of cycles is favored by lower In/Cat ratios and is the main reason for the unsatisfactory control of Mn at high LA/In ratios. The results also suggest that the cycles are mainly or exclusively formed by end-to-end cyclization and not, as believed previously, by back-biting. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Cyclization KW - Ring-opening polymerization PY - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-543066 SN - 1521-3935 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-54306 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -