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.