En Route Toward Sustainable Polycarbonates via Large Cyclic Carbonates

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Organic Synthesis
• Green Chemistry

Background:

• Large cyclic organic carbonates (≥6-membered rings) are crucial building blocks for advanced materials.
• Developing sustainable synthetic routes is essential for their wider application.
• Aliphatic polycarbonates (APCs) offer biocompatibility and tunable properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an up-to-date overview of synthetic methodologies for large cyclic organic carbonates.
• To highlight sustainable pathways using renewable resources and safe reagents.
• To discuss the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of these carbonates and the end-of-life management of resulting polymers.

Main Methods:

• Review of literature on synthetic strategies for large cyclic organic carbonates.
• Analysis of ring-opening polymerization (ROP) techniques for aliphatic polycarbonates (APCs).
• Discussion of depolymerization strategies for chemical recycling of APCs.

Main Results:

• Sustainable synthetic routes for large cyclic organic carbonates using diols and safe carbonyl sources under mild conditions are identified.
• Ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of these carbonates yields biocompatible APCs with tunable properties.
• Controlled depolymerization strategies offer pathways for chemoselective chemical recycling.

Conclusions:

• Large cyclic organic carbonates are accessible via sustainable synthesis and ROP.
• APCs derived from these carbonates show promise as circular and sustainable plastics.
• Further research into synthesis and recycling is needed to unlock their full potential.