Incorporation of renewable carbons via formamide reactivity for the production of novel biobased polymers

Abstract

Herein, we report a new synthetic approach to produce renewable polymers in which all carbons come from renewable sources, with the exploration of formamide reactivity as the key step for a process with 100% atom economy. The first step is the fast production of renewable monomers via a photocatalytic reaction under continuous flow conditions (t_R = 1–5 min). Formamide (HCONH₂), renewable acrylate derivatives and tetrakis(tetrabutylammonium)decatungstate as photocatalyst (TBADT) enabled us to produce the desired renewable monomers with excellent yields (up to 98%). For the final step, a polycondensation reaction with biobased diols produced hyperbranched polymers and linear polyesters.