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One-Pot Conversion of Epoxidized Soybean Oil (ESO) into Soy-Based Polyurethanes by MoCl₂O₂ Catalysis
Vincenzo Pantone1, Cosimo Annese2, Caterina Fusco3
1Greenswitch s.r.l., 75013 Ferrandina (MT), Italy. enzopantone@hotmail.it.
Abstract:
An innovative and eco-friendly one-pot synthesis of bio-based polyurethanes is proposed via the epoxy-ring opening of epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) with methanol, followed by the reaction of methoxy bio-polyols intermediates with 2,6-tolyl-diisocyanate (TDI). Both synthetic steps, methanolysis and polyurethane linkage formation, are promoted by a unique catalyst, molybdenum(VI) dichloride dioxide (MoCl₂O₂), which makes this procedure an efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally safer method amenable to industrial scale-up.
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