Novel Zinc-Catalytic Systems for Ring-Opening Polymerization of ε-Caprolactone

Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a biodegradable synthetic polymer that is currently widely used in many pharmaceutical and medical applications. In this paper we describe the coordination ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone in the presence of two newly synthesized catalytic systems: diethylzinc/gallic acid and diethylzinc/propyl gallate. The chemical structures of the obtained PCLs were characterized by 1H- or 13C-NMR, FTIR spectroscopy and MALDI TOF mass spectrometry. The average molecular weight of the resulting polyesters was analysed by gel permeation chromatography and a viscosity method. The effects of temperature, reaction time and type of catalytic system on the polymerization process were examined. Linear PCLs with defined average molecular weight were successfully obtained. Importantly, in some cases the presence of macrocyclic products was not observed during the polymerization process. This study provides an effective method for the synthesis of biodegradable polyesters for medical and pharmaceutical applications due to the fact that gallic acid/propyl gallate are commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry.