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Updated: Oct 7, 2025

Controlled Photoredox Ring-Opening Polymerization of O-Carboxyanhydrides Mediated by Ni/Zn Complexes
Published on: November 21, 2017
Backbone degradable poly(acrylic acid) analogue via radical ring-opening copolymerization and enhanced
Alexander W Jackson1, Srinivasa Reddy Mothe1, Pancy Ang1
1Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, 627833, Singapore.
Abstract:
Degradable poly(acrylic acid) has been prepared via free radical ring-opening copolymerization of tert-butyl acrylate and 2-methylene-1,3-dioxepane followed by tert-butyl deprotection, under acidic conditions. The resulting degradable poly(acrylic acid) analogue possesses ester groups within the backbone, which facilitate environmental hydrolysis into short chain oligomers, which subsequently undergo biodegradation. The degradable poly(acrylic acid) reported displays a significant degree of biodegradability (27.50% in 28 days) under environmental conditions, when compared to a conventional all carbon backbone non-degradable version, which shows no biodegradability.
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