The ring-opening polymerization Of L-lactide initiated by single-component rare-earth tris(4-tert-butylphenolate)s was conducted. The influences of the rare-earth elements, solvents, temperature, monomer and initiator concentrations, and reaction time on the polymerization were investigated in detail. No racemization was found from 70 to 100 degreesC under the examined conditions. NMR and differential scanning calorimetry measurements further confirmed that the polymerization occurred without epimerization of the monomer or polymer. A kinetic study indicated that the polymerization rate was first-order with respect to the monomer and initiator concentrations. The overall activation energy of the ring-opening polymerization was 79.2 kJ mol(-1). H-1 NMR data showed that the L-lactide monomer inserted into the growing chains with acyl-oxygen bond cleavage. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.