Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Controlled Photoredox Ring-Opening Polymerization of O-Carboxyanhydrides Mediated by Ni/Zn Complexes
Published on: November 21, 2017
Towards New Robust Zn(II) Complexes for the Ring-Opening Polymerization of Lactide Under Industrially Relevant
Pascal M Schäfer1, Katja Dankhoff2, Matthias Rothemund3
1Institute of Inorganic Chemistry RWTH Aachen University Landoltweg 1 52074 Aachen Germany.
Abstract:
The synthesis of bio-based and biodegradable plastics is a hot topic in research due to growing environmental problems caused by omnipresent plastics. As a result, polylactide, which has been known for years, has seen a tremendous increase in industrial production. Nevertheless, the manufacturing process using the toxic catalyst Sn(Oct)2 is very critical. As an alternative, five zinc acetate complexes have been synthesized with Schiff base-like ligands that exhibit high activity in the ring-opening polymerization of non-purified lactide. The systems bear different side arms in the ligand scaffold. The influence of these substituents has been analyzed. For a detailed description of the catalytic activities, the rate constants k app and k p were determined using in-situ Raman spectroscopy at a temperature of 150 °C. The polymers produced have molar masses of up to 71 000 g mol-1 and are therefore suitable for a variety of applications. Toxicity measurements carried out for these complexes proved the nontoxicity of the systems.
Related Concept Videos
Microorganisms in Agriculture and Food industry
Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP)
Actin Polymerization
The nucleation phase involves forming a stable nucleus consisting of three actin monomers to form a new actin filament. Actin-binding proteins such as formins and Arp2/3 complex help filament growth post-nucleation. The Formins form straight...
Protein Complex Assembly
Many viruses self-assemble into a fully functional unit using the infected host cell to...
Protein Complexes with Interchangeable Parts
The SCF ubiquitin ligase is a protein complex of five individual proteins. This complex attaches ubiquitin to other target proteins to mark them for degradation. In order...
Formation of Complex Ions

