Akio Yamaguchi

Chemical synthesis of high molecular weight poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate)

Abstract The reaction of optically active β-butyrolactone with γ-butyrolactone in the presence of a distannoxane complex as a catalyst at 100°C yielded a high molecular weight poly)(3-hydroxybutyrate-co4-hydroxybutyrate).

Synthesis of poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate)s by ring-opening copolymerization of (R)-β-butyrolactone with other four-membered lactones using a distannoxane complex as a catalyst

The reaction of optically active β-butyrolactone with other four-membered lactones in the presence of 1-ethoxy-3-chlorotetrabutyldistannoxane as a catalyst at 100°C gave a series of poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate)s with high molecular weight in good yields.

Ring-Opening Copolymerization of Optically Active β-Butyrolactone with Several Lactones: Synthesis of New Biodegradable Polyesters

The reactions of the optically active β-butyrolactone with e-caprolactone, δ-valerolactone, β-methyl-δ-valrolctone and L-lactide in the presence of distannoxane complexes as catalysts at 100 °C gave new optically active biodegradable polyesters of high molecular weights, comprising (R) -3-hydroxybutyrate. Polymers which have over 80 mol% of (R) -3HB unit showed to have almost the same degree of biodegradability in comparison with P(3HB- co- 11% 3HV) which was produced by microbial synthesis.