Phenols and Tertiary Amines: An Amazingly Simple Hydrogen-Bonding Organocatalytic System Promoting Ring Opening Polymerization

A simple and easily available organocatalytic system was developed for the polymerization of lactide. In partnership with tertiary amines, phenol derivatives were demonstrated to be excellent single H-bonding catalysts with high conversion within 24 h. In particular, ortho-, meta- and meta,meta'-trifluoromethylphenols revealed an amazing capacity for triggering the controlled ring opening polymerization (ROP) of lactide, through a fitted hydrogen-bond with the monomer