Description:
Recyclable Biopolymers from Chemical Ring-Opening Polymerization
At a Glance:
The invention comprises ring-opening polymerization methods and recyclable biorenewable polyesters
The chemical synthesis of poly(γ-butyrolactone) (PγBL), a highly useful biomaterial, offers a significant economic advantage because it is inexpensive to create
Commercial applications for this invention are biomaterials, biomedical applications, biodegradable polyester and thermal recyclable plastics
Background:
Aliphatic polyesters, an important class of technologically important biodegradable and/or biocompatible polymers, are readily accessible via chemical synthesis by ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of cyclic esters or lactones with relatively high strain energy. The five-membered γ-butyrolactone (γ-BL) would be a desirable bio-derived monomer for the chemical synthesis of the biopolyester poly(γ-butyrolactone) (PγBL), as γ-BL is a key downstream chemical of succinic acid. γ-BL, due to its low strain energy. Is commonly referred to as “non-polymerizable” Lipase-catalyzed ROP of γ-BL yielded a mixture of oligomers (~11-mer), while high molecular weight (MW) microbial ploy(4-hydroxybutyrate) (P4HB), a structural equivalent of PγBL, which has been shown to exhibit more desired properties as a biomaterial relative to other commonly used aliphatic polyesters, is produced through a bacterial fermentation process. Chemical ROP process has only been realized under ultra-high pressure (e.g., 20,000 atm) and high temperature, producing only oligomers.
Technology Overview:
The invention provides polymers with three formulas, such as polyesters and unsaturated polyesters and crosslinked and copolymerized polymers. The invention also provides methods to catalytically ring-open five-membered rings such as lactones, lactams and thiolactones, as via ring-opening polymerization. The polymerization products are recyclable and can be depolymerized back to their monomer form via thermolysis and acid or base catalysis.
Benefits:
First effective ogranopolymerization of the bio-derived non-strained five-membered lactone γ-BL for the synthesis of high MW, metal-free polyester Pγ-BL
Inexpensive to synthesize and economically advantageous
Pending patent application
