Oligomerisation of L-Lactic acid to Prepolymer

Thread starter MahoneyTree
Start date Aug 10, 2024
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Plastic polymerization

In summary, the oligomerisation of L-lactic acid involves the chemical process of linking multiple L-lactic acid molecules to form prepolymers. This process typically occurs through condensation reactions, resulting in oligomers with varying chain lengths that can serve as precursors for biopolymers. The resulting prepolymers possess desirable properties for various applications, including biodegradable materials and sustainable plastics. The study of this process emphasizes reaction conditions, catalysts, and the potential for further polymerization to enhance material performance.

Aug 10, 2024

MahoneyTree

TL;DR Summary: I need help undersating what happens in the chemical process.

I am working on my Thesis in which i synthesised PLA out of L-lactic acid. I am using the Methods from a research paper from the HEIA-FR which i linked here aswell.

https://www.chimia.ch/chimia/article/view/2012_951/4616

The second step is to perform a polymerisation of pure lactic acid to a prepolymer of PLA. I have done this and know what the educt aswell as product formulas are, but I don't know what happens in terms of a chemical process during the polymerisation.

Simply put, I need someone to explain to me what happens to the lactic acid molecule durng the polymerisation so that it turns into the prepolymer.

Thank you very much for your help