Tackling humanity’s reliance on environmentally persistent plastics is a subject that is finally gaining public momentum. Most common commodity plastics environmental impact are two-fold: firstly, they are environmentally persistent materials with lifespans of hundreds of years; and secondly, they are sourced from finite fossil fuel resources. Bio-derived and bio-compatible plastics present a viable alternative, and offer potential in the alleviation of the global plastic crisis. Whilst there are sustainable alternatives to the ubiquitous plastics sourced from finite fossil fuel feedstocks, they represent under 1% of global annual plastic production. In part, this is due to properties of such sustainable materials failing to match the more environmentally persistent alternatives. The development of new, sustainable, materials to replace those currently sourced from finite fossil fuel feedstocks is therefore of vital importance for the well-being of our planet. We are interested in the development of new, reactive metal species for the formation bio-compatible polyesters, formed via ring-opening polymerization catalysis.<br/><br/>Recently, we have developed a series of ‘Super Bulky’ amidinate ligands with the aim of varying the steric constraints around the metal centre. By creating a reactive pocket, we aim to exert increased steric influence onto the growing polymer chain, resulting in a controlled polymerization. Furthermore, we are interested in investigating novel methods for the production of block co-polymers, by taking advantage of the distinctive ring strain of different cyclic building blocks. The aim of this research is to create new polymeric materials with improved thermal and mechanical properties, by combining materials with different intrinsic physical characteristics. Here, we discuss the coordination chemistry of these ligands and the reactivity of the new complexes towards the ring-opening polymerization and ring-opening co-polymerization of cyclic esters.

‘Super-bulky’ ligands: Coordination chemistry and application in ring-opening polymerization reactions

2019 Fall National Meeting

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