The
synthesis of optically pure polymers is one of the most challenging
tasks in polymer chemistry. Herein, Novozym 435 (Lipase B from Candida antarctica, immobilized on Lewatit VP OC
1600)-catalyzed polycondensation between d-/l-aspartic
acid (Asp) diester and diols for the preparation of helical chiral
polyesters was reported. Compared with d-Asp diesters, the
fast-reacting l-Asp diesters easily reacted with diols to
provide a series of chiral polyesters containing N-substitutional l-Asp repeating units. Besides amino acid
configuration, N-substituent side chains and the
chain length of diols were also investigated and optimized. It was
found that bulky acyl N-substitutional groups like N-Boc and N-Cbz were more favorable for
this polymerization than small ones probably due to competitively
binding of these small acyl groups into the active site of Novozym
435. The highest molecular weight can reach up to 39.5 × 103 g/mol (M
w,
Đ = 1.64). Moreover, the slow-reacting d-Asp diesters were
also successfully polymerized by modifying the substrate structure
to create a “nonchiral” condensation environment artificially.
These enantiocomplementary chiral polyesters are thermally stable
and have specific helical structures, which was confirmed by circular
dichroism (CD) spectra, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and molecular
calculation.