Cationic ring opening polymerization of glycolide catalysed by a montmorillonite clay catalyst

Abstract

The ring opening bulk polymerization of glycolide catalyzed by Maghnite-H+ was reported. Maghnite-H+ is a montmorillonite sheet silicate clay, exchanged with protons. The effect of the amount of Maghnite-H+ and the temperature on polymerisation was studied. Increasing Maghnite-H+ proportion and temperature produced the increase in glycolide conversion. The kinetics indicated that the polymerization rate is first order with respect to monomer concentration. Mechanism studies showed that monomer inserted into the growing chains with the acyl-oxygen bond scission rather than the break of alkyl-oxygen bond. © Springer 2005.