Oligomerisation of L-Lactic acid to Prepolymer

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on the polymerization of L-lactic acid to create a prepolymer of polylactic acid (PLA) as part of a thesis project. The user references a methodology from a research paper published by HEIA-FR. The key chemical process involved is auto-esterification, where the acid and alcohol functional groups of lactic acid react, resulting in the release of water. This reaction is crucial for understanding the transformation of lactic acid into its prepolymer form.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of polymer chemistry
  • Knowledge of esterification reactions
  • Familiarity with L-lactic acid structure and properties
  • Basic grasp of prepolymer synthesis techniques
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the mechanism of auto-esterification in detail
  • Study the synthesis methods for polylactic acid (PLA)
  • Explore the properties and applications of PLA prepolymers
  • Investigate the role of water removal in polymerization processes
USEFUL FOR

Chemistry students, polymer scientists, and researchers involved in biopolymer synthesis and applications will benefit from this discussion.

MahoneyTree
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TL;DR
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
 
Chemistry news on Phys.org
It's an auto-esterification where the acid and alcohol functional group of lactic acid bind, releasing water.

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