Room temperature cationic polymerization of β-pinene using modified AlCl3catalyst: toward sustainable plastics from renewable biomass resources

Abstract

The polymerization of β-pinene is efficiently prompted by AlCl₃ etherates to afford relatively high molecular weight polymers (M_n = 9000–14 000 g mol⁻¹) with good thermal properties (T_g = 82–87 °C) at room temperature and low catalyst content (2.5–5.5 mM).