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Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Controlled Photoredox Ring-Opening Polymerization of O-Carboxyanhydrides Mediated by Ni/Zn Complexes
Published on: November 21, 2017
ENZYMATIC POLYMERIZATION OF PHENOLS IN ROOM TEMPERATURE IONIC LIQUIDS
Bilge Eker1, Dmitri Zagorevski, Guangyu Zhu
1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180.
Abstract:
Soybean peroxidase (SBP) was used to catalyze the polymerization of phenols in room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs). Phenolic polymers with number average molecular weights ranging from 1200 to 4100 D were obtained depending on the composition of the reaction medium and the nature of the phenol. Specifically, SBP was highly active in methylimidazolium-containing RTILs, including 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMIM(BF(4))), and 1-butyl-3-methylpyridinium tetrafluoroborate (BMPy(BF(4))) with the ionic liquid content as high as 90% (v/v); the balance being aqueous buffer. Gel permeation chromatography and MALDI-TOF analysis indicated that higher molecular weight polymers can be synthesized in the presence of higher RTIL concentrations, with selective control over polymer size achieved by varying the RTIL concentration. The resulting polyphenols exhibited high thermostability and possessed thermosetting properties.
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