Synthesis and degradation behavior of poly(propylene carbonate) derived from carbon dioxide and propylene oxide

TL;DR: A review of the current research efforts in the field of poly(propylene carbonate) prepared from carbon dioxide and propylene oxide is presented in this paper, where the microstructure, the properties of the melt, and the solid material are given.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight advances in copolymerization of carbon dioxide and epoxides (oxiranes) to produce polycarbonates, focusing on starting materials that have been generated from renewable feedstocks including straight-chain alkylene oxides, cyclohexadiene oxide, and limonene oxide.

Abstract: Aliphatic polycarbonates synthesized from carbon dioxide (CO2) and epoxides are resource‐saving, highly biocompatible and biodegradable polymers. Since the discovery of the copolymerization of epoxides and CO2 in 1969 by Inoue et al., this has become an important and useful technology for the large‐scale utilization of CO2 in chemical synthesis, employing mainly propylene oxide, and cyclohexene oxide (CHO). Only in recent years, functionalized polycarbonates have become an emerging topic with a broad scope of potential applications. This review summarizes synthetic routes and properties of numerous functionalized polycarbonates synthesized from CO2 and functional epoxide monomers. Implications for new materials and possible applications, for instance for pharmaceutical purposes and membranes are reviewed. Besides polycarbonates based on oxirane and CHO derivatives, particular emphasis is placed on the manifold synthetic approaches and postpolymerization modifications of glycidyl ether based polycarbonates. Not only functionalized linear polycarbonates are presented but also a variety of novel polycarbonate architectures, e.g., star and hyperbranched polymers.

TL;DR: In this article, a solution intercalation of polypropylene carbonate (PPC) into the galleries of organic modified double hydroxide (OMgAl-LDH) in cyclohexanone has been studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis.

TL;DR: In this paper, the properties of films of these blends were evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis and Instron tensile testing, and compared with similar blend films made with poly(3hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV, 11.6% HV content).

TL;DR: Degradation product pattern and morphology changes as means to differentiate abiotically and biotically aged degradable polyethylene have been studied in this paper, where the degradation product patterns and morphology change as a means of differentiation.

TL;DR: Using excessively loaded propylene oxide (PO) as a solvent, the copolymerization of carbon dioxide (CO2) and PO was carried out with zinc glutarate catalyst, consequently producing poly(propylene carbonate) of high molecular weight in a high yield as discussed by the authors.

TL;DR: In this paper, it was shown that polycaprolactone is degraded by the mold P. pullulans in the presence of other nutrients, and that degradation is directly proportional to the low molecular weight content in these short-term tests with a single species of mold.