Next Generation Thermoplastics from Biorenewable Carbonyl Compounds

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。该项目的目标包括合成和表征新的以作物为基础的、可生物可再生的热塑性塑料，旨在取代石油制成的热塑性塑料。将开发几种合成策略来聚合从植物中大量获得的有机分子。关键的聚合物设计特征包括环境降解途径或方便的化学回收。甲醛是一种有针对性的原料，可以通过甲醇(木醇)从木材或农业废弃物中提取。这些研究将开发甲醛与一氧化碳、二氧化碳和烯烃的共聚方法，产生新的聚缩醛/酯、聚缩醛/碳酸酯和聚缩醛/烯烃，其性质和应用尚未开发。更多的合成追求寻求改善聚乳酸的热性能，聚乳酸是目前体积最大的生物可再生合成热塑性塑料。相关的农作物芳香族/脂肪族聚酯将被定位为未来的大批量塑料，并将评估它们作为石油聚酯替代品的适用性。通过这个奖项，有机和高分子化学计划支持佛罗里达大学化学系的斯蒂芬·A·米勒教授的研究。米勒教授致力于有机和有机金属化学的研究，其专业领域包括聚合化学、单位催化、理论聚合物化学和由生物可再生原料合成的聚合物。这一研究项目的成功实施将产生与以石油为基础的商业塑料相匹配或优于商业塑料的新型聚合物材料，同时又能在环境中进行有益的降解。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The project objectives include the synthesis and characterization of new crop-based, biorenewable thermoplastics designed to replace those made from petroleum. Several synthetic strategies will be developed for polymerizing organic molecules abundantly available from plants. Critical polymer design features include environmental degradation pathways or facile chemical recycling. Formaldehyde is a targeted feedstock that can derive from wood or agricultural wastes via methanol (wood alcohol). These studies will develop methods for copolymerizing formaldehyde with carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and olefins, giving rise to new polyacetal/esters, polyacetal/carbonates, and polyacetal/olefins with unexplored properties and applications. Additional synthetic pursuits seek improved thermal properties of polylactic acid, currently the highest volume biorenewable synthetic thermoplastic. Related crop-based aromatic/aliphatic polyesters will be targeted as high-volume plastics of the future, and their suitability as replacements for petroleum-based polyesters will be assessed.With this award, the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program is supporting the research of Professor Stephen A. Miller of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Florida. Professor Miller's research efforts focus on organic and organometallic chemistry with areas of specialization including polymerization chemistry, single-site catalysis, theoretical polymer chemistry, and polymers synthesized from biorenewable feedstocks. The successful execution of this research project will result in novel polymeric materials that match or excel commercial plastics based on petroleum, yet degrade benignly in the environment.