Development of Metal-Based Catalysts for the Synthesis of Polymers with Reduced Environmental Impact

康奈尔大学化学和化学生物学系的Geoffrey Coates，因其在可生物降解和低环境影响聚合物方面的持续工作而得到无机、生物无机和有机金属化学项目的支持。Coates将使用金属基催化剂来制备具有精确结构控制的聚合物和共聚物，赋予其优越的性能并允许重要的应用。更具体地说，β -二亚胺酸锌配合物将被开发为环氧化物/二氧化碳共聚和内酯聚合的催化剂。基于杂化亚胺/恶唑啉配体的手性催化剂将被开发，可能导致光学活性的战术聚碳酸酯。这些反应的详细机理途径也将被研究，这将增加发现这些聚合的改进催化剂的速度。工业上重要的塑料对环境的影响可以通过使用可再生原料和制备可生物降解的聚合物来最小化。新的催化剂和新的反应将用于促进可持续发展。学生将接受催化剂合成、聚合物合成和聚合物表征方面的培训。公众对科学，特别是塑料的了解将通过化学演示和大众传媒加强。

Geoffrey Coates, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry Program for his continued work on biodegradable and low environmental impact polymers. Coates will use metal-based catalysts to prepare polymers and copolymers with precise architectural control, imparting superior properties and allowing important applications. More specifically, beta-diiminate zinc complexes will be developed as catalysts for epoxide/carbon dioxide copolymerization and lactone polymerization. Chiral catalysts based on hybrid imine/oxazoline ligands will be developed, potentially leading to optically active, tactic polycarbonates. The detailed mechanistic pathways of these reactions will also be studied, which should increase the rate of discovery of improved catalysts for these polymerizations.The environmental impact of industrially important plastics can be minimized by using renewable feedstocks and preparing biodegradable polymers. New catalysts and new reactions will be used to contribute to sustainable development. Students will be trained in catalyst synthesis, polymer synthesis and polymer characterization. Public understanding of science and particularly plastics will be enhanced through chemical demonstrations and mass media.