Carbohydrates possess high degrees of chemical functionality with rich diversity, making them abundant as small molecules and polymers throughout the plant and animal kingdoms of Nature, but also challenging substrates for synthetic polymerization chemistries. A primary interest in the Wooley laboratory is the production of functional polymers from renewable sources that are capable of reverting to those natural products once their purpose has been served. Target materials are designed for potential applications in diverse areas, from medicine, e.g., as nanotherapeutics or bioresorbable hemostatic agents, to the environment, e.g., as pollutant capture agents, climate resilient hydrogel materials or naturally-degradable plastics. This presentation will highlight the preparation of sustainable polycarbonates from carbohydrates and carbon dioxide via either a one-step transition metal-mediated ring-opening copolymerization strategy or via a two-step pathway that involves transition metal-mediated formation of cyclic carbonates followed by their organobase-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization.

Transformation of carbohydrates and carbon dioxide into sustainable polycarbonates via transition metal- and organobase-catalyzed synthetic routes

ACS Spring 2022

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