Macromolecules, Vol.43, No.1, 185-192, 2010
Preparation of Sodium-Capped Poly(lactic acid) Oligomers by Catalytic Initiation with a Sodium alpha-, beta-, or gamma-Hydroxyacids
Lactic acid oligomers were prepared using sodium and potassium hydroxyacids its initiators for lactide polymerization leading to the formation Of Surface active molecules in a one-pot synthesis, requiring no additional catalysts or volatile organic Solvents. The initiator systems that were investigated included sodium and potassium salts of lactate, mandelate, gamma-hydroxybutyrate. alpha-hydroxybutanoate, alpha-hydroxyhexanoate, alpha-hydroxyoctanoate, alpha-hydroxyisovalerate, and 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)butyrate. Poly(lactic acid) oligomers were Successfully isolated from polymerizations initiated by all species listed using the catalyst-free synthetic route employed. The molecular weights of the oligomeric species ranged from 800 to 2400 Da (measured against poly(styrene) Standards), and polydispersities were all below 1.5. All isolated polymers showed surfactant activity with low CMC values and it high propensity for aggregation that increases as molecular weight increases, Additionally, producing all A-B-A type polymeric structure, where the B block is defined its it moiety containing a single functional group, was shown to give improved application performance compared With the equivalent A-B type Structure.