Issue 22, 2024

A proof-of-concept study on a fully biobased and degradable polymer network based on vanillin and myrcene

Abstract

Despite the widespread use of polymer networks, their development has tended to disregard crucial sustainability considerations. In particular, their production and their management at the end-of-life can generate high environmental impacts. Therefore, the design of fully biobased and degradable polymer networks is of great importance. In this work, vanillin and myrcene were selected as renewable resources and a carbonate unit as cleavable linkage to induce a possible network disassembly. Vanillin was converted into a symmetric α,ω-diene featuring a carbonate unit in its center. This monomer was copolymerized by thiol–ene reaction with a myrcene derived trithiol to form a polymer network. An elastic transparent film exhibiting a glass transition temperature of 14 °C, a Young's modulus of 6.87 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of 1.48 MPa and an elongation at break of 148% was obtained. Owing to the inherent carbonate group, the polymer network could be degraded under acidic conditions into a polyol with an OH content of 2.23 mmol g−1, as determined by 13P NMR. The polyol obtained by degradation was effectively repolymerized to produce a new polyurethane. These proof-of-concept findings provide a potential strategy for circularization of biobased polymer networks.

Graphical abstract: A proof-of-concept study on a fully biobased and degradable polymer network based on vanillin and myrcene

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 Cig 2024
Accepted
09 Cax 2024
First published
15 Cax 2024

Polym. Chem., 2024,15, 2240-2252

A proof-of-concept study on a fully biobased and degradable polymer network based on vanillin and myrcene

P. S. Löser, A. Lamouroux, M. A. R. Meier and A. Llevot, Polym. Chem., 2024, 15, 2240 DOI: 10.1039/D4PY00269E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements