ALIPHATIC POLYESTER COPOLYMER AND ITS MANUFACTURING METHOD

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a polyγ-lactone/glycolic acid copolymer which can be mass-produced on an industrial scale and, at the same time, uses inexpensiveγ-lactones as the raw material and has a component ratio nearly the same as the feed ratio and a wide range of applications. SOLUTION: Aγ-lactone represented by formula (1) (wherein R is H or a 1-6C alkyl group) and glycolic anhydride represented by formula (2) are subjected to a ring opening polymerization in the presence of a Lewis acid under an extra-high pressure by heating at a temperature of 30-130 deg.C to produce a relatively high-molecular weight polyγ-lactone/glycolic acid copolymer having a component ratio corresponding to each feedstock. The obtained copolymer which has biodegradability is usable in a wide range of fields.