Herein,
we describe the preparation of a self-catalyzed polyester
vitrimer containing tertiary amino groups on the network strands that
overcomes the significantly slow bond exchange often encountered in
the reported systems. Starting from a polyester precursor bearing
both carboxy and tertiary amino side groups, a selective reaction
of the carboxyl groups with diepoxy cross-linkers affords a network
that possesses hydroxy and tertiary amino groups. The tertiary amino
groups on the network strands effectively work as internal catalysts
for the trans-esterification bond exchange. Because of the high mobility
of the incorporated internal amine catalyst, the bond exchange in
the vitrimer material was much more rapid (more than 20 times) than
that in reported self-catalyzed polyester vitrimers.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.