β-Butyrolactone polymerization initiated with tetrabutylammonium carboxylates: A novel approach to biomimetic polyester synthesis

The anionic ring-opening polymerizations of (R,S)-β-butyrolactone and (S)-β-butyrolactone initiated with tetrabutylammonium salts of carboxylic acids as initiators were investigated. Poly(R,S)-3-hydroxybutyrate] and poly(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate], with relatively high molecular weights (170,000 and 35,000, respectively) and low molecular weight distributions, were synthesized. Moreover, biomimetic poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)s with well-defined microstructures and predictable iso-dyad contents were obtained. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 2184–2189, 2002