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
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
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
 
Chemistry news on Phys.org
It's an auto-esterification where the acid and alcohol functional group of lactic acid bind, releasing water.

Is this what you were looking for?
 

Thread 'Solubility of MgSO47H2O in water'

It seems like a simple enough question: what is the solubility of epsom salt in water at 20°C? A graph or table showing how it varies with temperature would be a bonus. But upon searching the internet I have been unable to determine this with confidence. Wikipedia gives the value of 113g/100ml. But other sources disagree and I can't find a definitive source for the information. I even asked chatgpt but it couldn't be sure either. I thought, naively, that this would be easy to look up without...
View full post »

Thread 'Why does having 8 valence electrons make an element inert?'

I was introduced to the Octet Rule recently and make me wonder, why does 8 valence electrons or a full p orbital always make an element inert? What is so special with a full p orbital? Like take Calcium for an example, its outer orbital is filled but its only the s orbital thats filled so its still reactive not so much as the Alkaline metals but still pretty reactive. Can someone explain it to me? Thanks!!
View full post »

Similar threads

Chemically regenerating my auto's catalytic converter?
Replies
19
Views
7K
Question about acids And molarity vs concentration
Replies
8
Views
3K
Chemistry Understanding how to calculate pH of a buffer solution
Replies
2
Views
1K
Stabilize H2O2: Sodium Stanate & Phosphoric Acid
Replies
1
Views
3K
Chemistry How to calculate pH at equivalence point using this alternative?
Replies
7
Views
1K
Solution of salt of a weak base and salt of a weak acid
Replies
15
Views
7K
Alpha Lipoic Acid polymerization question
Replies
5
Views
8K
Separation using acids and bases
Replies
1
Views
9K
Chemistry Comparing methods of computing pH at equivalence point in titration
Replies
4
Views
1K
Writing Reactions: Acid/Base Balanced Reactions
Replies
4
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top