Activated carbonates: Enabling the synthesis of differentiated polymers via solution carbonation

Activated carbonates facilitate the preparation of polycarbonates based on monomers that are unsuitable for traditional melt polymerization at high temperatures. Here, we demonstrate the successful solution polymerization of bis(methyl salicyl)carbonate (BMSC) with a range of different diols, including bisphenol-A. It was shown that the use of BMSC in solution leads to a reduction in the (already low) amounts of by-products when compared to the use of BMSC in melt polymerization. Furthermore, the benefits of the lower temperature solution carbonation were demonstrated by the successful synthesis of segmented block copolycarbonates, without suffering from the scrambling caused by trans reactions. Finally, the use of solution polymerization for thermally unstable monomers was demonstrated by preparing a polycarbonate ionomer.