Synthesis of side-chain functional Poly(ε-caprolactone) via the versatile and robust organo-promoted esterification reaction

Abstract

Side-chain functionalized poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) is of much ongoing interest in light of its biocompatible and biodegradable features being widely applied in the field of biomaterials, but the versatile and robust protocols for the preparation of PCL-based (co)polymers with functional pendants remaining a challenge. Herein, an organic base of tetramethylguanidine (TMG) promoted esterification reaction of a variety of carboxylic acids and a-Cl of poly(α-chloro-ε-caprolactone) (P(α-Cl-CL)), enabling the direct synthesis of side-chain functional PCL, is described with wide substrate scope in mild reaction condition. It is noteworthy that this protocol affords one versatile and robust method for the preparation of PCL-based functional polymers, which are of high attraction for their application in biological area.