Polymers, and their higher molecular ￼weight subset known ￼as plastics, play an essential role in daily life. Applications of plastic materials vary from long-lifetime—found in electronics, clothing, and building materials—to single-use, such as disposable cutlery, food and beverage containers, and product packaging. Most commercial plastics are derived from petroleum sources; this contributes to the depletion of non-renewable resources, places dependence upon often unstable global market relations, and results in environmentally persistent material accumulation. Environmental persistence is a growing concern, especially with regards to single-use plastic products; biodegradable alternatives exist, but they are cost prohibitive industrially due to the difficulties of regulating molecular weight in batch reactors, as well as the complicated purification process required of the final product.<br/><br/>This project describes our progress towards developing continuous-flow chemistry to prepare poly(lactide), poly(glycolide), and their requisite copolymers in a multi-step, efficient process. The goal of the project is to first, develop a continuous-flow protocol for the direct dimerization of lactic acid and glycolic acid into lactide and glycolide respectively. Simultaneously, the polymerization of lactide and glycolide will be completed in a separate flow reactor. Upon achieving an understanding of each individual process within flow reactors, the two halves of the reaction will be combined in a single multi-step reactor to produce the desired polymer products.

Progress towards the continuous-flow synthesis of biodegradable plastics

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.