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A general and novel method for the controlled synthesis of aliphatic polyesters is presented. The evaluation of stannous (II) trifluoromethane sulfonate Sn(OTf)2 and scandium (III) trifluoromethane sulfonate Sc(OTf)3 as catalysts for the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of various lactones is described as a route to polyesters under mild and highly selective polymerization conditions. Size exclusion chromatograms of poly(ϵ-caprolactone) initiated from ethanol in the presence of either Sn(OTf)2 or Sc(OTf)3 demonstrate the facile synthesis of narrowly dispersed products. Predictable molecular weights, typical of a living or controlled polymerization, were obtained with high yields. These catalysts are versatile and applicable toward the ROP of other cyclic (di)esters, including β-butyrolactone, which produces the synthetic analogue of the biopolymer poly(β-hydroxybutyrate). © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 2067–2074, 2000
M�ller et al. (Thu,) studied this question.