Enzyme-catalyzed synthesis of malonate polyesters and their use as metal chelating materials

• Published in: Green Chemistry
• Main Authors: Byrne F. P., Assemat J. M. Z., Stanford A. E., Farmer T. J., Comerford J. W., Pellis A.
• Other Authors: Byrne, F. P., Assemat, J. M. Z., Stanford, A. E., Farmer, T. J., Comerford, J. W., Pellis, A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Royal Society of Chemistry 2021
• Subjects: Antarc*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11567/1062526; https://doi.org/10.1039/d1gc01783g

Following the environmental problems caused by non-degradable plastics there is a need to synthesise greener and more sustainable polymers. In this work we describe, for the first time, the facile enzyme-catalysed synthesis of linear polyesters using dimethyl malonate as the diester. These polymers, containing a different aliphatic diol component (C4, C6or C8), were synthesised in solventless conditions using immobilizedCandida antarcticalipase B as the biocatalyst. The potential of enzymes for catalysing this reaction is compared with the unsuccessful antimony- and titanium-catalysed synthesis (T> 150 °C). The application of the synthesized polymers as effective metal chelators in biphasic, green solvent systems was also described, together with the characterisation of the synthesised materials.