Direct Bronsted acid-catalyzed derivatization of cellulose with poly(L-lactic acid) and D-mandelic acid

The Bronsted acid-catalyzed bulk ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of L-lactide from solid cellulose is presented. The mild derivatizations of the hydroxy groups of solid cellulose (filter paper) were based on tartaric acid-catalyzed ROP and esterification reactions. Furthermore, the solid cellulose was heterogeneously derivatized with D-mandelic acid. The neat D-mandelic acid derivatization of cellulose was autocatalytic. The direct organocatalytic solvent-free and metal-free heterogeneous derivatization of cellulose with chiral monomers and acids provides a simple route to valuable biocompatible fiber-based materials. Moreover, the method presented here was environmentally benign, technically simple and utilized no toxic chemicals. The furnished poly(L-lactic acid) and polyester-derivatized filter paper were characterized by FT-IR, NMR and GPC. In addition, the cellulose-poly(L-lactic acid) product was analyzed for contact angle and water adsorption