Polyester polyol synthesis by alternating copolymerization of propylene oxide with cyclic acid anhydrides by using double metal cyanide catalyst

Ring-opening copolymerizations of propylene oxide (PO) with cyclic acid anhydrides, succinic anhydride (SA), maleic anhydride (MA) and phthalic anhydride (PA) were carried out in the presence of a double metal cyanide (DMC) catalyst of molecular formula Zn2.3Cl1.0[Co(CN)6]1.0⋅2.0tBuOH⋅1.0H2O as a means of developing functional polyols bearing ester backbones. Uniform alternating copolymers are produced when [PO]/[anhydride] in the copolymer approaches unity. All resulting copolymers have moderate molecular weights (Mn = 2300-10,600) and a narrow polydispersity index (1.02-1.49). The apparent reactivity ratio of PO is 0.34, 0.28, and 0.26 for PO/SA, PO/MA, and PO/PA copolymerizations, respectively, assuming that the reactivity ratio of the anhydrides is zero. The DMC-catalyzed PO copolymerizations with anhydrides are an efficient way to produce polyester polyols, expanding the versatility of conventional polyols.