Iron-catalyzed direct synthesis of p-dioxanone from commodity feedstocks methyl glycolate and ethylene oxide

Abstract

Closed-loop recyclable polymers represent a promising route toward a circular plastic economy, yet their broad applications are constrained by the limited availability of suitable monomers. Poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) is a high-performance, closed-loop recyclable polyester, but its application has been hampered by the lack of efficient and scalable synthesis of its monomer, p-dioxanone (pDO). Here, we report the first iron-catalyzed, one-pot synthesis of pDO directly from the commodity feedstocks of methyl glycolate (MG) and ethylene oxide (EO). Iron chloride (FeCl₃) catalyzes a tandem ring-opening reaction between MG and EO to afford methyl 2-(2-hydroxyethoxy)acetate (MHEA), which undergoes intramolecular cyclization to pDO under optimized conditions. This process achieves an isolated yield of up to 66% and furnishes a crystalline pDO monomer that can be readily polymerized into high-molecular-weight PPDO. The method is green, atomeconomical and scalable, providing a practical route to cost-effective production of pDO. This strategy not only enables sustainable access to PPDO but also paves a new approach to the efficient chemical synthesis of cyclic monomers for closed-loop polymer materials.

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