Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

Summer 2025

Abstract

Polymers are an essential part of our culture; they are a part of our daily lives. However, we have continued to see the negative effects of the long lifespan of some polymers. This has led to increased research in the monomer and polymer cycle. The Getzler lab aims to synthesize a variety of monomers, specifically ε-caprolactones (ECLs), to polymerize. These polymers will then be profiled in order for us to further understand their properties, such as degradation conditions. The previous method for synthesizing ECLs involved using meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid (mCPBA) as an oxidation method and dichloromethane (DCM) as a solvent. These two compounds are carcinogenic. On top of this, the reaction took 23 hours to complete and included a lengthy purification method to remove mCBA. As a new method of ELC synthesis, Oxone was used to oxidize the starting ketone in a phosphate buffer. The new method involves less harmful materials and a significant decrease in time and resources. This process yielded results ranging from 50-90% yield in 30-50 minutes. Further work will involve optimizing this process to provide consistent results for various ketones.

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