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Bottle-grade polyethylene furanoate from ring-opening polymerisation of cyclic oligomers

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  • Jan-Georg Rosenboom

    (ETH Zurich)

  • Diana Kay Hohl

    (ETH Zurich)

  • Peter Fleckenstein

    (ETH Zurich)

  • Giuseppe Storti

    (ETH Zurich)

  • Massimo Morbidelli

    (ETH Zurich)

Abstract

Polyethylene furanoate (PEF) represents a promising renewable resource-based bioplastic as replacement for fossil-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with improved material properties. However, the synthesis of PEF through conventional polycondensation remains challenging, since the time-intensive reaction leads to degradation and undesired discolouration of the product. Here we show the successful rapid synthesis of bottle-grade PEF via ring-opening polymerisation (ROP) from cyclic PEF oligomers within minutes, thereby avoiding degradation and discolouration. The melting point of such mixture of cyclic oligomers lies around 370 °C, well above the degradation temperature of PEF (~329 °C). This challenge can be overcome, exploiting the self-plasticising effect of the forming polymer itself (which melts around 220 °C) by initiation in the presence of a high boiling, yet removable, and inert liquid plasticiser. This concept yields polymer grades required for bottle applications (Mn > 30 kg mol−1, conversion > 95%, colour-free products), and can be extended to other diffusion-limited polymer systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan-Georg Rosenboom & Diana Kay Hohl & Peter Fleckenstein & Giuseppe Storti & Massimo Morbidelli, 2018. "Bottle-grade polyethylene furanoate from ring-opening polymerisation of cyclic oligomers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-7, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:9:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-018-05147-y
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05147-y
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    Cited by:

    1. Abdullayev, Yusif & Ahmadov, Orkhan & Valadova, Gunay & Karimli, Ayan & Autschbach, Jochen, 2021. "Unveiling the catalytic effects of Brønsted acidic ionic liquid on quantitative α-glucose conversion to 5-HMF: Experimental and computational studies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 383-390.
    2. Mohammad Nahid Siddiqui & Halim Hamid Redhwi & Abdulrahman A. Al-Arfaj & Dimitris S. Achilias, 2021. "Chemical Recycling of PET in the Presence of the Bio-Based Polymers, PLA, PHB and PEF: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-26, September.

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