Following the environmental problems caused by non-degradable plastics there is a need to synthesise greener and more sustainable polymers. In this work we describe, for the first time, the facile enzyme-catalysed synthesis of linear polyesters using dimethyl malonate as the diester. These polymers, containing a different aliphatic diol component (C(4), C(6) or C(8)), were synthesised in solventless conditions using immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B as the biocatalyst. The potential of enzymes for catalysing this reaction is compared with the unsuccessful antimony- and titanium-catalysed synthesis (T > 150 degreesC). The application of the synthesized polymers as effective metal chelators in biphasic, green solvent systems was also described, together with the characterisation of the synthesised materials.
        
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Byrne FP, Assemat JMZ, Stanford AE, Farmer TJ, Comerford JW, Pellis A (2021) Enzyme-catalyzed synthesis of malonate polyesters and their use as metal chelating materials Green Chem23: 5043-5048
Byrne FP, Assemat JMZ, Stanford AE, Farmer TJ, Comerford JW, Pellis A (2021) Green Chem23: 5043-5048