Aliphatic polycarbonates (APC) have attracted considerable attention as an important class of biodegradable polymers for their favorable biodegradability

biocompatibility and mechanical properties. APC are generally synthesized by the following four methods: (1) reaction of aliphatic diols with phosgene

(2) ring-opening polymerization of cyclic carbonates

(3) polymerization of epoxides with carbon dioxide

or(4) transesterification of dialkyl carbonates with aliphatic diols. Recently

there are lots of reports on synthesizing APC by methods(2) and(3)

while there are not so many reports on method (4). This paper reviews the synthesis and application of APC

and the emphasis is placed on progress in synthesizing APC by transesterification.