Synergetic Organocatalysis for Eliminating Epimerization in Ring-Opening Polymerizations Enables Synthesis of Stereoregular Isotactic Polyester

Ring-opening polymerization of O-carboxyanhydrides (OCAs) can furnish polyesters with a diversity of functional groups that are traditionally hard to harvest by polymerization of lactones. Typical ring-opening catalysts are subject to unavoidable racemization of most OCA monomers, which hampers the synthesis of highly isotactic crystalline polymers. Here, we describe an effective bifunctional single-molecule organocatalysis for selective ring-opening polymerization of OCAs without epimerization. The close vicinity of both activating groups in the same molecule engenders an amplified synergetic effect and thus allows for the use of mild bases, thereby leading to minimal epimerization for polymerization. Ring-opening polymerization of manOCA monomer (OCA from mandelic acid) mediated by the bifunctional single-molecule organocatalyst yields highly isotactic poly(mandelic acid) (PMA) with controlled molecular weights (up to 19.8 kg mol^-1). Mixing of the two enantiomers of PMA generates the first example of a crystalline stereocomplex in this area, which displayed distinct T_m values around 150 °C. Remarkably, the bifunctional catalysts are moisture-stable, recyclable, and easy to use, allowing sustainable and scalable synthesis of a stereoregular functional polyester.