Gallium (III) Complexes Based on Aminobisphenolate Ligands: Extremely High Active ROP-Initiators from Well-Known and Easily Accessible Compounds

Abstract

We report herein the synthesis and full characterizations of the first examples of gallium complexes based on “privileged” aminobisphenolate ligands which are easily available. These complexes turned out to be extremely active in the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone even at room temperature and highly active in the ROP of L-lactide. The combination of factors such as the easy availability of these compounds and the supposedly low toxicity, together with the extremely high activity in ROP, allows us to consider these compounds as suitable for use on an industrial scale for the synthesis of biodegradable polymers for biomedical applications.

Keywords

• gallium
• ring-opening polymerization
• lactide
• ε-caprolactone
• biodegradable polymers