Aluminium salalens vs. salans: “Initiator Design” for the isoselective polymerisation of rac-lactide

Abstract

We report the rationalised design of aluminium initiators and their application for ROP of rac-lactide (rac-LA). A very minor change to the ligand backbone (imine reduction) to give secondary amines was found to have a dramatic effect on activity and selectivity with isotactic PLA being realised.