Oligomerisation of L-Lactic acid to Prepolymer

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the synthesis of polylactic acid (PLA) from L-lactic acid for a thesis project. The user seeks clarification on the chemical process involved in the polymerization of lactic acid to form a prepolymer of PLA. The key point is that the polymerization occurs through auto-esterification, where the acid and alcohol functional groups of lactic acid react, resulting in the formation of ester linkages and the release of water as a byproduct. This explanation addresses the user's inquiry about the molecular changes during the polymerization process.
MahoneyTree
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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
 
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It's an auto-esterification where the acid and alcohol functional group of lactic acid bind, releasing water.

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