Oxidation‐Responsive Aliphatic Polycarbonates from N‐Substituted Eight‐Membered Cyclic Carbonate: Synthesis and Degradation Study

Oxidation‐responsive aliphatic polycarbonates represent a promising branch of functional biodegradable polymers. This paper reports the synthesis and ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of an eight‐membered cyclic carbonate possessing phenylboronic pinacol ester (C3) and the H2O2‐triggered degradation of its polymer (PC3). C3 is prepared from the inexpensive and readily available diethanolamine with a moderate yield and undergoes the well‐controlled anionic ROP with a living character under catalysis of 1,8‐diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec‐7‐ene. It can also be copolymerized with l‐lactide, trimethylene carbonate, and 5‐ter‐butyloxycarbonylamino trimethylene carbonate, affording the copolymers with a varied distribution of the repeating units. To clearly demonstrate the oxidative degradation mechanism of PC3, this paper first investigates the H2O2‐induced decomposition of small‐molecule model compounds by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR). It is found that the adduct products formed by the in‐situ‐generated secondary amines and p‐quinone methide (QM) are thermodynamically unstable and can decompose slowly back to QM and the amines. On this basis, this paper further studies the H2O2‐accelerated degradation of PC3 nanoparticles that are prepared by the o/w emulsion method. A sequential process of oxidation of the phenylboronic ester, 1,6‐elimination of the in‐situ‐generated phenol, releasing CO2 and intramolecular cyclization or isomerization is proposed as the degradation mechanism of PC3.