AUTHOR=Wang Weiliang , Qu Rui , Suo Hongyi , Gu Yanan , Qin Yusheng 

TITLE=Biodegradable polycarbonates from lignocellulose based 4-pentenoic acid and carbon dioxide

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2023.1202735

DOI=10.3389/fchem.2023.1202735

ISSN=2296-2646

ABSTRACT=<p>The production of biodegradable polycarbonate by copolymerizing CO<sub>2</sub> with epoxides has emerged as an effective method to utilize CO<sub>2</sub> in response to growing concerns about CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and plastic pollution. Previous studies have mainly focused on the preparation of CO<sub>2</sub>-based polycarbonates from petrochemical-derived propylene oxide (PO) or cyclohexene oxide (CHO). However, to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, the development of 100% bio-based polymers has gained attention in polymer synthesis. Herein, we reported the synthesis of glycidyl 4-pentenoate (GPA) from lignocellulose based 4-pentenoic acid (4-PA), which was further copolymerized with CO<sub>2</sub> using a binary catalyst SalenCoCl/PPNCl to produce bio-based polycarbonates with vinyl side chains and molecular weights up to 17.1 kg/mol. Introducing a third monomer, PO, allows for the synthesis of the GPA/PO/CO<sub>2</sub> terpolymer, and the glass transition temperature (<italic>T</italic><sub><italic>g</italic></sub>) of the terpolymer can be adjusted from 2°C to 19°C by controlling the molar feeding ratio of GPA to PO from 7:3 to 3:7. Additionally, post-modification of the vinyl side chains enables the production of functional polycarbonates, providing a novel approach to the preparation of bio-based materials with diverse side chains and functions.</p>