TY - JOUR A1 - Kricheldorf, Hans R. A1 - Weidner, Steffen T1 - Ring-ring equilibration (RRE) of cyclic poly(L-lactide)s by means of cyclic tin catalysts JF - European Polymer Journal N2 - With 2,2-dibutyl-2-stanna-1,3-dithiolane (DSTL) and 2-stanna-1,3-dioxa-4,5,6,7-dibenzoxepane (SnBiPh) as catalysts ring-expansion polymerizations (REP) were performed either in 2 M solution using three different solvents and two different temperatures or in bulk at 140 and 120 ◦C. A kinetically controlled rapid REP up to weight average molecular masses (Mẃs) above 300 000 was followed by a slower degradation of the molecular masses at 140 ◦C, but not at 120 ◦C Furthermore, a low molecular mass cyclic poly(L-lactide) (cPLA) with a Mn around 16 000 was prepared by polymerization in dilute solution and used as starting material for ring-ring equilibration at 140 ◦C in 2 M solutions. Again, a decrease of the molecular mass was detectable, suggesting that the equilibrium Mn is below 5 000. The degradation of the molecular masses via RRE was surprisingly more effective in solid cyclic PLA than in solution, and a specific transesterification mechanism involving loops on the surface of crystallites is proposed. This degradation favored the formation of extended-ring crystallites, which were detectable by a “saw-tooth pattern” in their MALDI mass spectra. KW - Organic Chemistry KW - Polymers and Plastics KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Materials Chemistry PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-593819 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2024.112765 SN - 0014-3057 VL - 206 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-59381 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kricheldorf, H. A1 - Weidner, Steffen A1 - Scheliga, F. T1 - Polycondensation of poly(L-lactide) alkyl esters combined with disproportionation and symproportionation of the chain lengths JF - Journal of Polymer Science A: Polymer Chemistry N2 - Ring-opening polymerizations (ROPs) of l-lactide (LA) were performed with ethyl l-lactate or 11-bromoundecanol as initiators (In) and tin(II) ethyl hexanoate (SnOct2) as catalyst (Cat) using four different LA/In ratios (20/1, 40/1, 60/1, and 100/1). One series of ROPs was conducted in bulk at 120 °C, yielding PLAs with low dispersities (Ð ~ 1.2–1.4), and a second series was conducted in bulk at 160 °C, yielding higher dispersities (Ð ~ 1.3–1.9). Samples from both series were annealed for 1 or 14 days at 140 °C in the presence of SnOct2. Both polycondensation and disproportionation reactions occurred, so that all four samples tended to form the same type of molar mass distribution below 10,000 Da, regardless of their initially different number average molar masses (Mn). Both initiators gave nearly identical results. The thermodynamic control of all reversible transesterification processes favored the formation of crystallites composed of chains with a Mn around 3500–3700, corresponding to a crystal thickness of 10–13 nm. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Crystalinity PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-600081 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/pol.20240118 SN - 2642-4150 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-60008 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 JF - Polymer 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 DO - 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. A1 - Weidner, Steffen T1 - SnOct 2-Catalyzed Syntheses of Cyclic Poly (l-lactide) s with Catechol as Low-Toxic Co-catalyst JF - Journal of Polymers and the Environment N2 - Polymerizations of l-lactide in bulk at 160 or 180 °C were performed with 1/1 mixtures of catechol (CA) or 4-tert-butylcatechol (BuCA) and tin(II)-2-ethylhexanoate (SnOct2) as catalysts and a variation of the Lac/Cat ratio. Weight average molar masses (Mw) up to 170,000 g mol−1 were obtained with CA and up to 120,000 g mol−1 with BuCA. The cyclic structure of the resulting poly(l-lactide)s was proven by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and by comparison of their hydrodynamic volumes with those of commercial linear poly(l-lactide)s. The predominance of even-numbered cycles increased with lower temperatures and shorter polymerization times. This fnding indicates that the cyclic architecture is the results of a ring-expansion polymerization mechanism. Addition of silylated BuCA as co-catalyst was less favorable than addition of free BuCA. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Cyclization KW - Catalyst KW - Catechol KW - Toxicity PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-019-01545-5 SP - 10924 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-49210 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kricheldorf, H. A1 - Scheliga, F. A1 - Weidner, Steffen T1 - Syntheses of Cyclic Poly(l-lactide)s by Means of Zinc-Based Ring-Opening Polymerization with Simultaneous Polycondensation (ROPPOC) Catalysts JF - Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics N2 - Ring-opening polymerizations of l-lactide are studied in bulk at 140 or 160 °C with zinc n-hexanoate, zinc 4-chlorothiophenolate, and zinc pentafluoro thiophenolate (ZnSPF) as catalysts. The reactivity increases in the given order. With all three catalysts a high fraction of cycles is obtained only at polymerization (annealing) times around 7 d. With ZnSPF weight average molecular weights (Mw) up to 178 000, a Tm around 199 °C and a 𝚫Hm around 99 J g−1 were achieved. The samples annealed for 4 or 7 d also display a saw tooth pattern of the mass peak distribution in the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight spectra indicating transesterification reactions across the surface of extended ring crystals. This process optimizes the thermodynamical properties of the crystalline cyclic polylactides and is responsible for the high Tm and 𝚫Hm values. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Ring opening polymerization KW - Polymerization PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-578264 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.202300070 SN - 1022-1352 SP - 202300070 PB - Wiley VHC-Verlag AN - OPUS4-57826 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 - Ring-Expansion Polymerization of 𝝐-Caprolactone, Glycolide, and l-lactide with a Spirocyclic Tin(IV) Catalyst Derived from or 2,2′-Dihydroxy-1,1′-Binaphthyl – New Results and a Revision JF - Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics N2 - In contrast to other cyclic tin bisphenoxides, polymerizations of glycolide and l-lactide with the spirocyclic tin(IV) bis-1,1′-bisnapthoxide yield linear chains having a 1,1′-bisnapthol end group and no cycles. In the case of l-lactide, LA/Cat ratio and temperature are varied and at 160 °C or below, all polylactides mainly consist of even-numbered chains. A total predominance of even-numbered chains is also found for homopolymerization of glycolide, or the copolymerization of glycolide and l-lactide, when conducted <120 °C. Linear chains having a bisnaphthol end group are again the main reaction products of ring-expansion polymerizations (REP) of 𝝐-caprolactone, but above 150 °C cycles are also formed. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Polymerization PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-541931 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.202100308 VL - 222 IS - 24 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Wiley VCH GmbH AN - OPUS4-54193 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 JF - Macromolecular chemistry and physics 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 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-543066 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.202100464 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 - TY - JOUR A1 - Kricheldorf, H. R. A1 - Weidner, Steffen A1 - Scheliga, F. T1 - Synthesis of cyclic polymers and flaws of the Jacobson–Stockmayer theory JF - RSC Polymer Chemistry N2 - Cyclic poly(L-lactide)s were prepared by ring-opening polymerization combined with simultaneous polycondensation (ROPPOC) in bulk at 160 ° with dibutyltin bis(4-cyanophenoxide) as catalyst. It is demonstrated by MALDI TOF mass spectrometry and 1H NMR end group analyses that cycles are formed by endto-end cyclization in addition to “back-biting” transesterification. Formation of high molar mass cyclic poly L-lactide)s by means of several more reactive ROPPOC catalysts presented previously and in new experiments is discussed. These experimental results, together with theoretical arguments, prove that part of the Jacobson–Stockmayer theory is wrong. The critical monomer concentration, above which end-toend cyclization is seemingly impossible, does not exist and reversible like irreversible polycondensations can theoretically proceed up to 100% conversion, so that finally all reaction products will necessarily adopt a cyclic architecture. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Cyclization PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-506419 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d0py00226g VL - 11 IS - 14 SP - 2595 EP - 2604 PB - Royal Society for Chemistry AN - OPUS4-50641 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 - Synthesis of cyclic poly(l-lactide) catalyzed by Bismuth salicylates-A combination of two drugs JF - Journal of Polymer Science A-Polymer Chemistry N2 - l‐lactide was polymerized in bulk at 160 or 180°C with mixtures of bismuth subsalicylate (BiSub) and salicylic (SA) as catalysts. The SA/Bi ratio and the monomer/Bi ratio were varied. The highest molecular weights (weight average, Mw) were achieved at a SA/Bi ratio of 1/1 (Mw up to 92 000 g mol−1). l‐Lactide was also polymerized with combinations of BiSub and silylated SA, and Mw values up to 120 000 g mol−1 were achieved at 180°C. MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry and Mark‐Houwink‐Sakurada measurements proved that under optimized reaction conditions the resulting polylactides consist of cycles. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Cyclization KW - Catalyst KW - Salicylate PY - 2019 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-488622 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/pola.29473 SN - 0887-624X SN - 1099-0518 SP - 29473 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-48862 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 - About formation of cycles in Sn(II) octanoate-catalyzed polymerizations of lactides JF - Journal of Polymer Science A: Polymer Chemistry N2 - At first, formation of cycles in commercial poly(Llactide)s is discussed and compared with benzyl alcoholinitiated polymerizations performed in this work. This comparison was extended to polymerizations initiated with 4-cyanophenol and pentafluorothiophenol which yielded cyclic polylactides via end-biting. The initiator/catalyst ratio and the acidity of the initiator were found to be decisive for the extent of cyclization. Further polymerizations of L-lactide were performed with various diphenols as initiators/co-catalysts. With most diphenols, cyclic polylactides were the main reaction products. Yet, only catechols yielded even-numbered cycles as main reaction products, a result which proves that their combination with SnOct2 catalyzed a ring-expansion polymerization (REP). The influence of temperature, time, co-catalyst, and catalyst concentrations was studied. Four different transesterification reactions yielding cycles were identified. For the cyclic poly(L-lactide)s weight average molecular weights (Mw’s) up to 120,000 were obtained, but 1H NMR end group analyses indicated that the extent of cyclization was slightly below 100%. The influence of various parameters like structure of Initiator and catalyst and temperature on the formation of cyclic poly(Llactide)s has been investigated. Depending on the chosen conditions, the course of the polymerization can be varied from a process yielding exclusively linear polylactides to mainly cyclic polylactides. Three different reaction pathways for cyclization reactions have been identified. KW - Cyclization KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Polyester KW - Ring-opening polymerization KW - Transesterification PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/pola.29077 SN - 0887-624X VL - 56 IS - 17 SP - 1915 EP - 1925 PB - Wiley Periodicals Inc. AN - OPUS4-46052 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 JF - Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics 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 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-565038 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.202200385 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 A1 - Meyer, A. T1 - High Tm poly(L-lactide)s via REP or ROPPOC of L-lactide JF - Polymer Chemistry N2 - A new kind of high melting (HTm) pol(L-lactide) was discovered when cyclic poly(L-lactide)s were prepared by ring-expansion polymerization with cyclic tin catalysts at 130–160 °C in bulk. By DSC measurements with 10 K min−1 melting temperatures (Tm) in the range of 190–196 °C were found. The WAXS and SAXS measurements evidenced that not a new crystal lattice but a well-ordered morphology and a higher perfection of the crystallites are responsible for the high Tm values and high crystallinities. Under identical reaction conditions SnOct2-catalyzed and alcohol-initiated ROPs do not yield these crystallites. Furthermore, it was found that the standard crystallites are kinetically favored upon rapid crystallization, whereas the high melting form of poly(L-lactide) is thermodynamically more stable. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - ROPPOC PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-507477 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/c9py01908a VL - 11 IS - 12 SP - 2182 EP - 2193 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-50747 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 - High Tm linear poly(L-lactide)s prepared via alcohol-initiated ROPs of L-lactide JF - RSC Advances N2 - Alcohol-initiated ROPs of L-lactide were performed in bulk at 160 °C for 72 h with variation of the catalyst or with variation of the initiator (aliphatic alcohols). Spontaneous crystallization was only observed when cyclic Sn(II) compounds were used as a catalyst. Regardless of initiator, high melting crystallites with melting temperatures (Tm) of 189–193 °C were obtained in almost all experiments with Sn(II) 2,2′-dioxybiphenyl (SnBiph) as catalyst, even when the time was shortened to 24 h. These HTm poly(lactide)s represent the thermodynamically most stable form of poly(L-lactide). Regardless of the reaction conditions, such high melting crystallites were never obtained when Sn(II) 2-ethylhexanoate (SnOct2) was used as catalyst. SAXS measurements evidenced that formation of HTm poly(L-lactide) involves growth of the crystallite thickness, but chemical modification of the crystallite surface (smoothing) seems to be of greater importance. A hypothesis, why the “surface smoothing” is more effective for crystallites of linear chains than for crystallites composed of cycles is discussed. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Ring-opening polymerization PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-524330 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d1ra01990b VL - 11 IS - 23 SP - 14093 EP - 14102 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-52433 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 JF - Polymer chemistry 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 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-543402 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d1py01679b 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 - Falkenhagen, Jana T1 - Reversible Polycondensations outside the Jacobson-Stockmayer Theory and a New Concept of Reversible Polycondensations JF - Polymer Chemistry N2 - L-Lactide was polymerized with tin(II)acetate, tin(II)2-ethyl hexanoate, diphenyltin dichloride and dibutyltin bis(pentafluorophenoxide) at 130 °C in bulk. When an alcohol was added as initiator, linear chains free of cycles were formed having a degree of polymerization (DP) according to the lactide/initiator (LA/In) ratio. Analogous polymerizations in the absence of an initiator yielded high molar mass cyclic polylactides. Quite similar results were obtained when ε-caprolactone was polymerized with or without initiator. Several transesterification experiments were conducted at 130 °C, either with polylactide or poly(ε-caprolactone) indicating that several transesterification mechanisms are operating under conditions that do not include formation of cycles by back-biting. Furthermore, reversible polycondensations (revPOCs) with low or moderate conversions were found that did not involve any kind of cyclization. Therefore, These results demonstrate the existence of revPOCs, which do neither obey the theory of irreversible polycondensation as defined by Flory nor the hypothesis of revPOCs as defined by Jacobson and Stockmayer. A new concept encompassing any kind of revPOCs is formulated in the form of a “polycondensation triangle”. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Polycondensation PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-530831 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d1py00704a VL - 12 IS - 35 SP - 5003 EP - 5016 PB - Royal Society for Chemistry AN - OPUS4-53083 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 JF - Polymer Chemistry 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 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-545050 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d2py00092j 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 T1 - Polymerization of L-lactide with SnCl2: A Low Toxic and Eco-friendly Catalyst JF - Journal of Polymers and the Environment N2 - Polymerizations of L-lactide catalyzed either by neat SnCl2 or by SnCl2 + difunctional cocatalysts were conducted in bulk at 180, 160 and 140 °C with variation of the Lac/Cat ratio and time. With neat SnCl2 poly(L-lactide) having weight average molecular weights (uncorrected Mw’s) up to 190 000 g mol−1 were obtained mainly consisting of linear chains. Addition of salicylic acid or 1,1-bisphenol yielded a higher fraction of cyclic polylactides but lower molecular weights. Furthermore, SnCl2 was compared with Bu2SnCl2 and various other metal chlorides and the best results were obtained with SnCl2. With ethyl L-lactate as initiator SnCl2-catalyzed ROPs were performed at 120 °C and the lac/initiator ratio was varied. All these experiments were conducted under conditions allowing for comparison with ROPs catalyzed with neat Sn(II)-2-ethyhexanoate. Such a comparison was also performed with ε-caprolactone as monomer. KW - Catalyst KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Polycondensation PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-520517 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-020-02042-w SN - 1566-2543 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Springer Nature AN - OPUS4-52051 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kricheldorf, H. R. A1 - Weidner, Steffen T1 - Alcohol-Initiated and SnOct2-Catalyzed Ring-Opening Polymerization (ROP) of L-Lactide in Solution: A Re-investigation JF - European Polymer Journal N2 - Alcohol-initiated ring-opening polymerizations (ROP) of L-lactide (LA) were studied in solution at 70 °C, whereupon the nature of the alcohol, the LA/initiator ratio, the LA/SnOct2 ratio and the time were varied. In contrast to literature, neat SnOct2 is catalytically active in THF and several aromatic but donor solvents, such as 1,3-dioxolane, dimethylformamide (DMF) or N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP), strongly reduce the activity of SnOct2. In agreement with literature, no cycles were formed by neat SnOct2 at 70 °C in toluene, whereas almost complete cyclization occurs at 115 °C. This finding is attributed to strongly reduced mobility of the initially formed linear chains having one Sn-O-CH and one anhydride end group. Due to better solvation and enhanced mobility cyclization occurs in THF at 70 °C. KW - Polylactide KW - Ring-opening polymerization KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Transesterification PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2023.111822 SN - 0014-3057 SP - 1 EP - 18 PB - Elsevier CY - New York, NY [u.a.] AN - OPUS4-56818 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kricheldorf, H. R. A1 - Weidner, Steffen T1 - High molar mass cyclic poly(L-lactide)s by means of neat tin (II) 2-ethylhexanoate JF - RSC Polymer Chemistry N2 - L-lactide was polymerized in bulk at 120, 140, 160 and 180°C with neat tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate (SnOct2) as catalyst. At 180°C the Lac/Cat ratio was varied from 25/1 up to 8 000/1 and at 160°C from 25/1 up to 6 000/1. The vast majority of the resulting polylactides consist of cycles in combination with a small fraction of linear chains having one octanoate and one COOH end group. The linear chains almost vanished at high Lac/Cat ratios, as evidenced by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and measurements of intrinsic viscosities and dn/dc values. At Lac/Cat ratios <1000/1 the number average molar masses (Mn) are far higher than expected for stoichiometic initiation, and above 400/1 the molar masses vary relatively little with the Lac/Cat ratio. At 180° slight discoloration even at short times and degradation of the molar masses were observed, but at 160°C or below colorless products with weight average molar masses (Mw) up to 310 000 g mol-1 were obtained. The formation of high molar mass cyclic polylactides is explained by a ROPPOC (Ring-Opening Polymerizatiom with simultaneous Polycondensation) mechanism with intermediate formation of linear chains having one Sn-O-CH end group and one mixed anhydride end group. Additional experiments with tin(II)acetate as catalyst confirm this interpretation. These findings together with the detection of several transesterification mechanisms confirm previous critique of the Jacobson-Stockmayer theory. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Cyclization PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d0py00811g VL - 11 IS - 32 SP - 5249 EP - 5260 PB - Royal Society for Chemistry AN - OPUS4-51130 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kricheldorf, H. R. A1 - Weidner, Steffen T1 - The Ring-Opening Polymerisation-Polycondensation (ROPPOC) Approach to cyclic Polymers JF - Macromolecular Rapid Communications N2 - A new concept called “Ring-Opening Polymerization (ROP) combined with simultaneous POlyCondensation” (ROPPOC) is presented and discussed. This synthetic strategy is based on the intermediate formation of chains having two end groups that can react with each other. The ROPPOC syntheses are subdivided into three groups according to the nature of the chain ends: two ionic end groups, one ionic and one covalent chain end and a combination of two reactive covalent end groups may be involved, depending on the catalyst. The usefulness for the preparation of cyclic polymers is discussed with a review of numerous previously published examples. These examples concern to following classes of cyclic polymers: polypeptides, polyamides, polyesters, including polycarbonates, and cyclic polysiloxanes. It is demonstrated, that the results of certain ROPPOC syntheses are in contradiction to the Jacobson-Stockmayer theory. Finally, the usefulness of ROPPOCs for the detection of polydisperse catenanes is discussed. KW - Ring-opening Polymerisation KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - ROPPOC KW - Cyclic PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-508509 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202000152 SP - 2000152 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-50850 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -