Towards Truly Sustainable Polymers: A Metal‐Free Recyclable Polyester from Biorenewable Non‐Strained γ‐Butyrolactone |
| |
| Authors: | Dr Miao Hong Prof?Dr Eugene Y‐X Chen |
| |
| Affiliation: | Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA |
| |
| Abstract: | The first effective organopolymerization of the biorenewable “non‐polymerizable” γ‐butyrolactone (γ‐BL) to a high‐molecular‐weight metal‐free recyclable polyester is reported. The superbase tert‐Bu‐P4 is found to directly initiate this polymerization through deprotonation of γ‐BL to generate reactive enolate species. When combined with a suitable alcohol, the tert‐Bu‐P4‐based system rapidly converts γ‐BL into polyesters with high monomer conversions (up to 90 %), high molecular weights (Mn up to 26.7 kg mol?1), and complete recyclability (quantitative γ‐BL recovery). |
| |
| Keywords: | organopolymerization polyesters recyclability superbases sustainable polymers |
|
|
