Synthesis and Characterization of PTMC Polymer

The PTMC polymer (molecular weight Mw ≈ 32,000 Da) was synthesized by ring-opening polymerization (Yang et al., 2015 (link)). Briefly, TMC (20.4 g, 0.2 mol) and Sn(Oct)₂ (0.2 M; 1/20,000 eq, 25 μL) were added to a glass ampoule. The ampoule was then heat sealed under a high vacuum (5 mmHg) and immersed in an oil bath at 130°C ± 2°C for 24 h. The oil bath was removed, and the ampoule was cooled to room temperature. The polymer was obtained by crushing the ampoule. Subsequently, the crude polymer product was dissolved in chloroform, further purified in ice-methanol, and dried under vacuum to a constant weight. Mn and PDI were calculated using polystyrene as a standard.