Versatile, facile and scalable route to polylactic acid-backbone graft and bottlebrush copolymers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9228050-B2
Application number	US-201414525130-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 27, 2014
Priority date	Apr 2, 2014
Publication date	Jan 5, 2016
Grant date	Jan 5, 2016

Abstract

Polylactic acid-backbone graft and bottlebrush copolymers are synthesized by polymerizing a lactide-functionalized macromonomer using ring opening polymerization (ROP). In some embodiments of the present invention, the macromonomer is a lactide-functionalized polymer that may be synthesized by, for example, polymerizing a monomer capable of undergoing radical polymerization (e.g., styrenic, vinylic, acrylic, etc.) using a brominated lactide initiator via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The brominated lactide initiator may be 3-bromo-3,6-dimethyl-1,4-dioxane-2,5-dione prepared by, for example, reacting lactide with N-bromosuccinimide in the presence of benzoyl peroxide.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A polylactic acid-backbone graft copolymer represented by the following formula:

wherein variables x, y, z and n each denotes a degree of polymerization of a respective repeating unit, wherein the value of the variable n is sufficient to provide the repeating unit associated with the variable y with a number-average molecular weight M n between about 1000 and about 10,000, and wherein x, y, and z are equal to 1 or greater.

2. A polylactic acid-backbone bottlebrush copolymer represented by the following formula:

wherein variables x and n each denotes a degree of polymerization of a respective repeating unit, wherein the value of the variable n is sufficient to provide the repeating unit associated with the variable x with a number-average molecular weight M n between about 1000 and about 10,000, and wherein x is greater than 1.

3. The polylactic acid-backbone graft copolymer as recited in claim 1 , wherein the polylactic acid-backbone graft copolymer is synthesized by a method comprising:
polymerizing a lactide-functionalized macromonomer using ring opening polymerization (ROP) and lactide, wherein the lactide-functionalized macromonomer is 3-poly(styrene)-3,6-dimethyl-1,4-dioxane-2,5-dione.

4. The polylactic acid-backbone bottlebrush copolymer as recited in claim 2 , wherein the polylactic acid-backbone bottlebrush copolymer is synthesized by a method comprising:
polymerizing a lactide-functionalized macromonomer using ring opening polymerization (ROP), wherein the lactide-functionalized macromonomer is 3-poly(styrene)-3,6-dimethyl-1,4-dioxane-2,5-dione.

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Boday Dylan J
• Mauldin Timothy C

Classifications

• C08G63/08 Primary

  Lactones or lactides · CPC title

• C08F2438/01

  Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization [ATRP] or reverse ATRP · CPC title

• C08G63/91

  Polymers modified by chemical after-treatment · CPC title

• C08F257/02 Primary

  on to polymers of styrene or alkyl-substituted styrenes · CPC title