Synthesis of glycerol-based (co)polyethers via ring-opening polymerization of glycidyl butyrate catalyzed by one-component phosphonium tetraborane Lewis Pair †

Key Points

• The aim is to develop an efficient method for synthesizing glycerol-based polyethers using a specific catalyst.
• Utilized ring-opening polymerization to create linear polyglycerol-based polyethers.
• Applied one-component phosphonium tetraborane as a catalyst.
• Compared water solubility and biocompatibility against traditional polyethylene glycol.
• Synthesized linear polyglycerol-based polyethers showed superior water solubility.
• Demonstrated enhanced biocompatibility relative to polyethylene glycol.
• Proposed a straightforward synthesis method for these materials.