Organocatalytic synthesis of sugar‐derived polyesters via ring‐opening alternating copolymerization of anhydrosugar oxetane and anhydrides

Abstract

AbstractIn this work, the organocatalytic strategy for the ring‐opening copolymerization (ROCOP) of 3,5‐anhydro‐D‐xylose oxetane 1 and various anhydrides has been demonstrated by use of phosphazene base (P1) and triethyl borane (TEB). The ROCOP proceeds efficiently to generate sugar‐derived polyesters with perfectly alternating sequence distribution, controlled molar masses, and moderate dispersity. These polyesters show good thermal stability (Tmax > 320°C) and adjustable glass transition temperatures (Tg 70 ~ 110°C) with the variation of anhydrides. This work provides efficient organocatalyst for the selective copolymerization for biomass‐derived degradable polyesters.