Novel synthesis routes for the preparation of low toxic vinyl ester and vinyl carbonate monomers

Abstract

UV curing of photopolymerizable monomers, like (meth)acrylates, has been utilized for coatings for more than half a century and more recently in further developed areas such as tissue engineering. However, these monomers have major disadvantages, e.g., high irritancy and cytotoxicity, which leads to limited use in tissue engineering regarding health issues. Vinyl esters (VE) and vinyl carbonates (VC) can compete with (meth)acrylates in terms of material properties and have significantly lower toxicity, but lack in cost efficient synthesis methods. The purpose of this communication is to establish new pathways to overcome this drawback. It was shown that VEs can be synthesized either by vinyloxy trimethylsilane or by acetaldehyde in excellent yields. Moreover, a new method to synthesize vinyl chloroformate as precursor for VCs in lab scale was evolved by a catalyzed reaction of vinyloxy trimethylsilane with a phosgene solution. Finally, the cytotoxicity tests showed auspicious results.