Synthesis of β-methyl-α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone from biorenewable itaconic acid†
Abstract
An efficient, high-yielding route to β-methyl-α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone (βMMBL)—a monomer for the production of high-performance engineering bioplastics—from biorenewable and inexpensive itaconic acid has been developed. The monomer prepared by this new route is of high purity as isolated without purification, as evidenced by NMR as well as small and large-scale polymerization tests.
- This article is part of the themed collection: HOT articles in Organic Chemistry Frontiers for 2014