Ian D. V. Ingram

Sustainable metal-based catalysts for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates containing five-membered rings

The use of sustainable metal-based catalysts for the synthesis of five-membered ring containing cyclic carbonates from epoxides and carbon dioxide is critically reviewed. Coverage is restricted to catalysis by the abundant metals: sodium, potassium, aluminium, calcium, titanium and iron and the relative merits and limitations of each catalyst system are compared.

Ring opening metathesis polymerisation of a new bio-derived monomer from itaconic anhydride and furfuryl alcohol

A new oxa-norbornene bio-based lactone obtained from the 100% atom economic reaction of furfuryl alcohol and itaconic anhydride via a tandem Diels–Alder addition and lactonisation is presented. Esterification of the resulting acid gives a monomer for the production of a bio-based polymer with low polydispersity and well controlled molecular weight via ring-opening metathesis polymerisation (ROMP).

Wholly biomass derivable sustainable polymers by ring-opening metathesis polymerisation of monomers obtained from furfuryl alcohol and itaconic anhydride

Ring-opening metathesis polymerisation (ROMP) of oxanorbornene esters by Grubbs second generation catalyst is used to prepare a range of wholly biomass-derivable homo and copolymers. Eight ester monomers are prepared by esterification of the corresponding carboxylic acid which itself is formed by a 100% atom-economical tandem Diels–Alder-lactonisation reaction of itaconic anhydride and furfuryl alcohol. The well-controlled nature of the ROMP is confirmed by NMR spectroscopy studies and facilitated the preparation of homopolymers, random copolymers and block copolymers with good control over the polymer molecular weight and molecular weight distribution.

Vanillin derived a carbonate dialdehyde and a carbonate diol: novel platform monomers for sustainable polymers synthesis

Vanillin has been regarded as one of the important biomass-based platform chemicals for aromatic polymers synthesis. Herein, novel symmetric bis(4-formyl-2-methoxyphenyl)carbonate (BFMC) and bis(4-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methoxyphenyl)carbonate (BHMC) polymeric monomers have been synthesized in high yields using vanillin as a raw chemical, which have been submitted for polymer synthesis via well-established polymeric strategies. A new class of poly(carbonate ester)s oligomers with amide moieties in their side chain can be prepared by using the BFMC as one of monomers via the Passerini three compound reaction (3CR). A new class of poly(carbonate ester)s oligomers and poly(carbonate urethane)s can be prepared via reactions between BHMC with dicarboxylic acid chlorides and diisocyanates, respectively. Their structure have been confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and FTIR, and the gel permeation chromatograph (GPC) analysis shows that the Mn of poly(carbonate ester)s oligomers ranges from 3100 to 7900 with PDI between 1.31 and 1.65, and the Mn of poly(carbonate urethane)s ranges from 16 400 to 24 400 with PDI ranging from 1.36 to 2.17. The DSC analysis shows that the poly(carbonate ester)s oligomers have relative low Tg ranging from 37.4 to 74.1 °C, and the poly(carbonate urethane)s have Tg ranging from 97.3 to 138.3 °C, mainly correlating to the structure of dicarboxylic acid chlorides and diisocyanates used.

Preparation of Novel Aromatic-Aliphatic Poly(ketone ester)s through Condensation of Biomass-Derived Monomers

Abstract: Novel unsaturated and saturated monomers with a hydroxyl group and a carboxylic group via aldol condensation reaction of lignin‐derived aromatic aldehydes with levulinic acid were prepared through organocatalysis and hydrogenation, respectively. The catalytic process was optimized and the structure of the monomers were full characterized. The as‐prepared monomers were ready for the subsequent condensation polymerization to achieve a serial of novel full biobased poly(ester ketone)s. The chemical‐physical properties of the poly(ester ketone)s were evaluated. This provides a green upgrading strategy to prepare sustainable synthetic polymers from building blocks available on a large scale using a catalytic biorefinery approach.

Capture agents, conversion mechanisms, biotransformations and biomimetics: general discussion

Eryk Remiezowicz, Jeroen Spooren, Elizabeth Bay, Alexander Cowan, Ian Ingram, Pedro Abrantes, Manuel Nunes da Ponte, Michael North, Jonathan Albo, Peter Styring, Michael Priestnall, Katie Lamb, Michele Aresta, Elsje Alessandra Quadrelli, Richard Heyn, André Bardow, William Webb, Renata Silva, Carlos Alonso-Moreno, Csaba Janaky, Geoffrey Maitland, Seetharaman Vaidyanathan, Gonçalo V. S. M. Carrera, Daniel Reed, Karolien Vanbroekhoven, Cafer Tayyar Yavuz, Deepak Pant and Nathan Hollingsworth