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Updated: Aug 16, 2025

Designed for Molecular Recycling: A Lignin-Derived Semi-aromatic Biobased Polymer
Published on: November 30, 2020
A Semicrystalline Furanic Polyamide Made from Renewable Feedstocks
Cristian P Woroch1, India W Cox1, Matthew W Kanan1
1Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, 337 Campus Drive, Stanford, California 94305, United States.
Abstract:
Semi-aromatic polyamides (SAPs) synthesized from petrochemical diacids and diamines are high-performance polymers that often derive their desirable properties from a high degree of crystallinity. Attempts to develop partially renewable SAPs by replacing petrochemical diacids with biobased furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) have resulted in amorphous materials or polymers with low melting temperatures. Herein, we report the development of poly(5-aminomethyl-2-furoic acid) (PAMF), a semicrystalline SAP synthesized by the polycondensation of CO2 and lignocellulose-derived monomer 5-aminomethyl-2-furoic acid (AMF). PAMF has glass-transition and melting temperatures comparable to that of commercial materials and higher than that of any previous furanic SAP. Additionally, PAMF can be copolymerized with conventional nylon 6 and is chemically recyclable. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations suggest that differences in intramolecular hydrogen bonding explain why PAMF is semicrystalline but many FDCA-based SAPs are not.
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