Non-degradable plastics waste issue is a global challenge that requires urgent attention due to its harmful impact on humans and the environment. Lignin is an important biomass that can be a raw material to produce functional polymers. Ligninis abundant, cheap, sustainable raw material that contains high concentration of aromaticity. However, not well-defined chemical modifications and characterizations limit the practical applications of lignin as a new sustainable raw material. This presentation will discuss how the biomass lignin can be covalently integrated with aliphatic polyesters to produce biomass-based biodegradable polymers. Poly(ethylene brassylate) (PEB) is a aliphatic polyester that is graft copolymerized to a lignin. The synthesized new lignin-based polymer is lignin-graft-PEB. PEB is relatively unexplored polymer that is derived from sustainable resource, castor oil. Prior to the graft copolymerization, lignin was chemically modified by sebacic acid to introduce a carboxylic acids onto lignin. Lignin’s abundant hydroxyl groups were used for the modification forming ester links. Another precursor of the graft copolymer,PEB was prepared by ring-opening polymerization of ethylene brassylate in the presence of a catalyst, 1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene (TBD). The graft copolymerization between modified lignin and PEB was occurred by thermally catalyzed esterification. The chemical structure of the synthesized lignin-graft-PEB was determined by 2D NMR, HSQC. The progress of the chemical reactions during polymerization was demonstrated by consumption of<br/>1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene terminus of PEB and carboxylic acid of modified lignin.

Lignin based polyesters: Synthesis and characterizations of lignin-graft-poly(ethylene brassylate)

ACS Fall 2021

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