Bio-Sourced Novel Monomers and Polymers for Plastics Sustainability

Abstract

This thesis details the synthesis of several novel monomers from biomass chemicals such as terpenes and furfural. Several synthesis routes were explored to produce a broad spectrum of functional groups suitable for polymerisation, such as hydroxyls, carboxy acids, epoxides, lactones, and methacrylate. In chapter two, terpene-derived monomers were synthesised via the derivatisation of -pinene, -pinene, limonene and geraniol. This resulted in novel monomers with diols, hydroxy-carboxylic acids, di-carboxy acids and epoxides. In chapter three, a six-membered ring lactone monomer was synthesised from furfural. Some of these monomers have been used in synthesising sustainable polyesters and polymethacrylate, which contain a unique cyclohexane ring or a double bond in their backbone, making them suitable for post-polymerisation modification. The functionalisation of limonene, -pinene, -pinene and geraniol has enabled the synthesis of several renewably-sourced monomers to form terpene-derived polyesters. Step growth homo-polymerisation of diols, diacids and hydroxy-acid yields low molecular weights of novel polyesters. The limonene diol derivatives are demonstrated to function as co-monomers alongside a renewable diacid. The resultant polyesters display Mns of up to 8400 g/mol. -Pinene was used to synthesise dialcohols, which served as co-monomers with a renewable diacid, enabling the synthesis of two novel polyesters.