Synthesis of polysiloxane–polyester copolymer by lipase‐catalyzed polycondensation

Abstract

Abstract Polysiloxane–polyester copolymers have been synthesized for the first time by direct polycondensation of a series of diacids (butanedioic, hexanedioic, and octanedioic acid) and α,ω‐bis(3‐hydroxypropyl) polydimethylsiloxanes catalyzed with Novozyme‐435 in high yields (>90%) without the cleavage of SiO bonds. The effects of monomer chain length, reaction temperature, and water removal method on the number–average molecular weight ( M n ) of the resulted copolymers were investigated. Thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry analyses indicated that the produced copolymer was more thermally stable than poly(1,8‐octyladipate) and the T g was lowered to −111°C. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008