General Description
Glycolide is a cyclic dimer of α-hydroxy acid that can be used in the formation of aliphatic polyester. It is synthesized by the dimerization of glycolic acid. It forms a low toxic synthetic biodegradable polymer that can be used in medical applications. It is majorly used in the formation of a highly crystalline poly(glycolide) by ring opening polymerization.
Synthesis
Weigh 50g of ethanoic acid into a 500ml double-necked flask, then add 0.05g of phenylalanine stannous catalyst (0.1wt%), pre-polymerization at atmospheric pressure, 120 under the condition of 0.5h, and then increase the temperature to 160 , through the decompression distillation device for vacuum dewatering, the reaction of about 2h to no water discharge, you can get a white oligomer. Then 1,4-dioxane-2,5-hexanedione was collected by decompression cracking at 260C. 5h was completed and 33.9g of crude 1,4-dioxane-2,5-hexanedione was received, the product yield was 89%, and the melting point of the product was 90.6C.
