Organic solvent-free enzymatic transformation of poly (epsilon-caprolactone) into repolymerizable oligomers in supercritical carbon dioxide

Authors
Matsumura, S Ebata, H Kondo, R Toshima, K
Citation
S. Matsumura et al., Organic solvent-free enzymatic transformation of poly (epsilon-caprolactone) into repolymerizable oligomers in supercritical carbon dioxide, MACRO RAPID, 22(16), 2001, pp. 1326-1329
Citations number
14
Categorie Soggetti
Organic Chemistry/Polymer Science
Journal title
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
ISSN journal
10221336 → ACNP
Volume
22
Issue
16
Year of publication
2001
Pages
1326 - 1329
Database
ISI
SICI code
1022-1336(20011107)22:16<1326:OSETOP>2.0.ZU;2-K
Abstract
The enzymatic transformation of poly(epsilon -caprolactone) (PCL) into repo lymerizable oligomers in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO(2)) using an en zyme was carried out in order to establish a sustainable chemical recycling system for PCL, which is a typical biodegradable synthetic plastic. The en zymatic conversion of PCL beads having an (M) over bar (n) of 110 000 using Candida antarctica lipase (lipase CA) in scCO(2) containing small amounts of water quantitatively afforded CL oligomers at 40 degreesC. The CL oligom ers were readily repolymerized using the same enzyme to produce high-molecu lar weight PCL.