Synthesis of aromatic–aliphatic polyesters by enzymatic ring opening polymerization of cyclic oligoesters and their cyclodepolymerization for a circular economy

• Published in: ACS Applied Polymer Materials
• Main Authors: Flores, Irma, Martínez de Ilarduya Sáez de Asteasu, Domingo Antxon, Sardon, Haritz, Müller, Alejandro, Muñoz Guerra, Sebastián
• Other Authors: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. POL - Polímers Industrials Avançats i Biopolímers Tecnològics
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society (ACS) 2019
• Subjects: Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria química; Circular economy; Polymerization; Polyesters; Aromatic-aliphatic polyesters; cyclic oligoesters; entropically driven ROP; enzymatic cyclization; enzymatic cyclodepolimerization; enzymatic polymerization; furanoate polyesters; terephthalate polyesters; Polimerització; Polièsters; Economia circular; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2117/130296; https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.8b00265

Cyclic oligomers of hexamethylene furanoate and hexamethylene terephthalate were obtained from 1,6-hexanediol and the corresponding methyl esters using Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) enzyme catalyst. HPLC, MALDI-TOF MS, and NMR analyses showed that mixtures composed from cyclic dimer up to heptamer were obtained almost quantitatively. Subsequently, these cycles were polymerized by ring opening polymerization (ROP) mediated by CALB to obtain semicrystalline polymers. In addition, we demonstrated that the polymers obtained from the ROP process could be transformed into cyclic oligomers in high yields using enzymatic cyclodepolymerization, thereby recycling the polymer in a circular biosynthetic path. Postprint (author's final draft)