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获得无机化学、生物无机化学和有机金属化学计划的支持。Coates将使用基于金属的催化剂来制备具有精确结构控制的聚合物和共聚物，从而提供优异的性能并允许重要的应用。更具体地说，将开发β-二亚胺锌络合物作为环氧化物/二氧化碳共聚和内酯聚合的催化剂。基于亚胺/恶唑啉杂化配体的手性催化剂将被开发出来，这可能导致光学活性的、策略性的聚碳酸酯。还将研究这些反应的详细机理路径，这将增加发现这些聚合的改进催化剂的速度。通过使用可再生原料和制备可生物降解的聚合物，可以最大限度地减少具有工业重要性的塑料对环境的影响。将使用新的催化剂和新的反应来促进可持续发展。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。将通过化学演示和大众媒体加强公众对科学，特别是塑料的了解。

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.