%0 Journal Article
%T Enzyme-Catalyzed Synthesis of Unsaturated Aliphatic Polyesters Based on Green Monomers from Renewable Resources
%A Yi Jiang
%A Albert J.J. Woortman
%A Gert O.R. Alberda van Ekenstein
%A Katja Loos
%J Biomolecules
%D 2013
%I MDPI AG
%R 10.3390/biom3030461
%X Bio-based commercially available succinate, itaconate and 1,4-butanediol are enzymatically co-polymerized in solution via a two-stage method, using Candida antarctica Lipase B (CALB, in immobilized form as Novozyme£¿ 435) as the biocatalyst. The chemical structures of the obtained products, poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and poly(butylene succinate- co-itaconate) (PBSI), are confirmed by 1H- and 13C-NMR. The effects of the reaction conditions on the CALB-catalyzed synthesis of PBSI are fully investigated, and the optimal polymerization conditions are obtained. With the established method, PBSI with tunable compositions and satisfying reaction yields is produced. The 1H-NMR results confirm that carbon-carbon double bonds are well preserved in PBSI. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) results indicate that the amount of itaconate in the co-polyesters has no obvious effects on the glass-transition temperature and the thermal stability of PBS and PBSI, but has significant effects on the melting temperature.
%K enzymatic polymerizations
%K CALB
%K unsaturated aliphatic polyesters
%K bio-based monomers
%K succinate
%K itaconate
%K 1
%K 4-butanediol
%K renewable resources
%U http://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/3/3/461