Fahnhorst GW, Hoye TR. A Carbomethoxylated Polyvalerolactone from Malic Acid: Synthesis and Divergent Chemical Recycling.
ACS Macro Lett 2018;
7:143-147. [PMID:
35610909 DOI:
10.1021/acsmacrolett.7b00889]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
We report here the synthesis of a novel substituted polyvalerolactone from the renewable monomer, 4-carbomethoxyvalerolactone (CMVL, two steps from malic acid). The polymerization proceeds to high equilibrium monomer conversion to give the semicrystalline carbomethoxylated polyester with low dispersity. The material displays a glass transition temperature of -18 °C and two melting temperatures at 68 and 86 °C. This polymer can be chemically recycled by either of two independent pathways. The first (red) cleanly returns CMVL by a backbiting depolymerization from the hydroxy terminus; the second (blue) uses a base to cleave the polyester in a retro-oxa-Michael fashion. This affords a methacrylate-like monomer that we have polymerized radically to a new polymethacrylate analogue. This is a rare example of a polymer that has been shown to have two independent chemical recycling pathways leading to two different classes of monomers.
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