Nature Communications [ECMC]

Abstract:

When aiming at the direct use of CO₂ for the preparation of advanced/value-added materials, the synthesis of CO₂/olefin copolymers is very appealing but challenging. The δ-lactone 3-ethylidene-6-vinyltetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-one (EVP), synthesized by telomerization of CO₂ with 1,3-butadiene, is a promising monomer. However, its chemoselective ring-opening polymerization (ROP) is hampered by unfavorable thermodynamics and the competitive polymerization of highly reactive C=C double bonds under usual conditions. Herein, we report the chemoselective ROP of EVP using a phosphazene/urea binary catalyst, affording exclusively a linear unsaturated polyester poly(EVP)_ROP, with a molar mass (M_n) up to 16.1 kg·mol⁻¹ and a narrow distribution (Ð < 1.6), which can be fully recycled back to the pristine monomer, thus establishing a monomer-polymer-monomer closed-loop life cycle. In these polyesters, the CO₂ content reaches 33 mol% (29 wt%). The reasons for the unexpected chemoselectivity were investigated by Density-functional theory (DFT) calculations. The poly(EVP)_ROP features two pendent C=C double bonds per repeating unit, which show distinct reactivity and thus can be properly engaged in sequential functionalizations towards the synthesis of bifunctional polyesters. We disclose here a methodology providing a facile access to bifunctional and recyclable polyesters from readily available feedstocks.

 

Reference:

Bifunctional and recyclable polyesters by chemoselective ring-opening polymerization of a δ-lactone derived from CO₂ and butadiene

J. Zhang, L. Jiang, S. Liu, J. Shen, P. Braunstein, Y. Shen, X. Kang, and Z. Li

Nature Communications, volume 15, Article number: 8698 (2024), DOI :https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52090-2

Contact:

Pierre Braunstein (équipe ECMC, ancien Directeur de l’équipe  LCC), Institut de Chimie (UMR 7177).