Counterion and solvent effects on the anionic polymerization of β-butyrolactone initiated with acetic acid salts

The comparative studies on the anionic polymerization of β-butyrolactone (BL) initiated with various salts of acetic acid have revealed strong sensitivity of the reaction rate on solvent polarity (benzene, THF, DMSO) and size of counterion. It was found that the polymerization rate in THF depends on the size of counterion and the type of macrocyclic ligand; it decreases in the following order: K+/Kryptofix® 222 ≈TBA+ > K+/18C6 > Na+/18C6 > Na+/15C5 > K+. It was also shown that the anionic polymerization of BL initiated with carboxylic acid salts depends strongly on the solvent polarity. In the polymerization initiated by acetate anions with a large counterion, the high-polar solvent as DMSO affects unfavorably the reaction rate, however, when a small counterion is applied, the opposite tendency is observed.