Enzyme-catalyzed synthesis of unsaturated aliphatic polyesters based on green monomers from renewable resources

• Published in: Biomolecules
• Main Authors: Jiang, Yi, Woortman, Albert J J, van Ekenstein, Gert O R Alberda, Loos, Katja
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/11370/af577dfc-6160-4d3b-b397-abbf22fc188d; https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/af577dfc-6160-4d3b-b397-abbf22fc188d; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom3030461; https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/54022396/biomolecules_03_00461.pdf

Bio-based commercially available succinate, itaconate and 1,4-butanediol are enzymatically co-polymerized in solution via a two-stage method, using Candida antarctica Lipase B (CALB, in immobilized form as Novozyme® 435) as the biocatalyst. The chemical structures of the obtained products, poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and poly(butylene succinate-co-itaconate) (PBSI), are confirmed by 1H- and 13C-NMR. The effects of the reaction conditions on the CALB-catalyzed synthesis of PBSI are fully investigated, and the optimal polymerization conditions are obtained. With the established method, PBSI with tunable compositions and satisfying reaction yields is produced. The 1H-NMR results confirm that carbon-carbon double bonds are well preserved in PBSI. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) results indicate that the amount of itaconate in the co-polyesters has no obvious effects on the glass-transition temperature and the thermal stability of PBS and PBSI, but has significant effects on the melting temperature.