Green Polymerization Methods

Robert T. Mathers graduated from North Carolina State University with a B.S. in chemistry. After working under the direction of Professor Roderic P. Quirk at The University of Akron, he obtained a PhD in Polymer Science in 2002. After two years of postdoctoral research at Cornell University with Professor Geoffrey W. Coates in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, he joined Pennsylvania State University. Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the New Kensington campus. His research interests focus on green polymerization methods that integrate renewable resources, such as monoterpenes, with catalysis. Robert has also served as coeditor for the Handbook of Transition Metal Polymerization Catalysts published by Wiley. Michael A. R. Meier (born 1975) studied chemistry at the University of Regensburg and obtained his doctorate in 2006 from the Eindhoven University of Technology, for which he was awarded with the Golden Thesis Award of the Dutch Polymer Institute. In 2006 he was appointed principal investigator of the junior research group Renewable Raw Materials at the University of Applied Sciences in Emden, Germany. In June 2009 he became Juniorprofessor for Sustainable Organic Synthesis at the University of Potsdam, Germany. Since October 2010 he is full professor at the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology in Karlsruhe, Germany. In 2010 he was awarded with the European Young Lipid Scientist Award of European Federation for the Science and Technology of Lipids. His current research focuses on a sustainable use of plant oils and other renewable resources for the synthesis of novel monomers, fine chemicals, and polymers. He is an author of more than 70 journal publications and co-inventor on three patents.

• PART I: Introduction WHY ARE GREEN POLYMERIZATION METHODS RELEVANT TO SOCIETY, INDUSTRY, AND ACADEMICS?Status and Outlook for Environmentally Benign ProcessesImportance of CatalysisBrief Summaries of Contributions PART II: Integration of Renewable Starting Materials PLANT OILS AS RENEWABLE FEEDSTOCK FOR POLYMER SCIENCEIntroductionCross-Linked MaterialsNon-Cross-Linked PolymersConclusion FURANS AS OFFSPRINGS OF SUGARS AND POLYSACCHARIDES AND PROGENITORS OF AN EMBLEMATIC FAMILY OF POLYMER SIBLINGSIntroductionFirst Generation Furans and their Conversion into MonomersPolymers from Furfuryl AlcoholConjugated Polymers and OligomersPolyestersPolyamidesPolyurethanesFuryl OxiraneApplication of the Diels-Alder Reaction to Furan PolymersConclusions SELECTIVE CONVERSION OF GLYCEROL INTO FUNCTIONAL MONOMERS VIA CATALYTIC PROCESSESIntroductionConversion of Glycerol into Glycerol CarbonateConversion of Glycerol into Acrolein/Acrylic AcidConversion of Glycerol into GlycidolOxidation of Glycerol to Functional Carboxylic AcidConversion of Glycerol into AcrylonitrileSelective Conversion of Glycerol into Propylene GlycolSelective Coupling of Glycerol with Functional MonomersConclusion PART III: Sustainable Reaction Conditions MONOTERPENES AS POLYMERIZATION SOLVENTS AND MONOMERS IN POLYMER CHEMISTRYIntroductionMonoterpenes as MonomersMonoterpenes as Solvents and Chain Transfer AgentsConclusion CONTROLLED AND LIVING POLYMERIZATION IN WATER: MODERN METHODS AND APPLICATION TO BIO-SYNTHETIC HYBRID MATERIALSIntroductionRing-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP)Living Free Radical Methods for Bio-Synthetic Hybrid Materials TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION POLYMERIZATION: BIODIESEL AS A POLYMERIZATION SOLVENTIntroductionSolution Polymerization and Green SolventsBiodiesel as a Polymerization SolventExperimental SectionEffect of FAME Solvent on Polymerization KineticsEffect of Biodiesel FeedstockConclusion PART IV: Catalytic Processes RING-OPENING POLYMERIZATION OF RENEWABLE SIX-MEMBERED CYCLIC CARBONATES. MONOMER SYNTHESIS AND CATALYSISIntroductionPreparation of 1,3-Propanediol from Renewable ResourcesPreparation of Dimethylcarbonate from Renewable ResourcesSynthesis of Trimethylene CarbonateSix-Membered Cyclic Carbonates: Thermodynamic Properties of Ring-Opening PolymerizationCatalytic Processes Using Green Catalysts MethodsThermoplastic Elastomers and their Biodegradation ProcessesConcluding Remarks POLY(LACTIDE)S AS ROBUST RENEWABLE MATERIALSIntroductionRing-Opening Polymerization of LactidePoly(lactide) PropertiesThermoplastic ElastomersFuture Developments/Outlook SYNTHESIS OF SACCHARIDE-DERIVED FUNCTIONAL POLYMERSIntroductionPolyethersPolyamidesPolyurethanes and PolyureasGlycosilicones DEGRADABLE AND BIODEGRADABLE POLYMERS BY CONTROLLED/LIVING RADICAL POLYMERIZATION: FROM SYNTHESIS TO APPLICATIONIntroduction(Bio)degradable Polymers by CRPConclusions PART V: Biomimetic Methods and Biocatalysis HIGH-PERFORMANCE POLYMERS FROM PHENOLIC BIOMONOMERSIntroductionCoumarates as PhytomonomersLC Properties of HomopolymersLC Copolymers for BiomaterialsLC Copolymers for Photofunctional PolymersLC Copolymers for High Heat-Resistant PolymersConclusion ENZYMATIC POLYMER SYNTHESIS IN GREEN CHEMISTRYIntroductionPolymersGreen Media for Enzymatic PolymerizationConclusions and Outlook GREEN CATIONIC POLYMERIZATIONS AND POLYMER FUNCTIONALIZATION FOR BIOTECHNOLOGYIntroductionEnzyme Catalysis"Green" Cationic Polymerizations and Polymer Functionalization Using LipasesNatural Rubber Biosynthesis -The Ultimate Green Cationic PolymerizationGreen Synthetic Cationic Polymerization and Copolymerization of Isoprene