Synthesis of Sustainable Polymers by Silylium-Catalyzed Polymerization of Renewable Feedstocks

在这个由化学学部大分子、超分子和纳米化学项目资助的项目中，科罗拉多州立大学的Eugene Chen教授将开发高活性、自愈的硅催化剂和相关的主基团受挫刘易斯对，用于从可再生原料合成可持续的立体规则和光学活性聚合物。拟议的研究旨在实现三个重要的项目目标。首先，手性硅催化剂将被开发，这将使立体规则和光学活性可持续聚合物的合成位点控制。其次，反阴离子研究将用于实现高速立体选择性聚合的硅催化剂。第三，研究了基于硅和等电子丙烯的路易斯对介导的新型路易斯对聚合，作为一种可持续合成聚合物的新技术。这项研究的广泛影响包括培训研究生和本科生，通过将实验理论家合作小组聚集在一起来加强研究基础设施，并提高社会对化学家在促进生物衍生原料的开发和使用方面可以发挥作用的认识。塑料是长链有机分子，在日常生活的许多方面都有发现，包括食品包装。用于汽车和航空运输的结构材料，以及轻型电子设备。目前，塑料主要来自石油资源，大多数商业催化剂都是基于过渡金属。这项研究的重点是开发金属催化剂的有效替代品和使用生物衍生原料的新合成路线，使其成为技术上重要或先进的塑料。

In this project funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Eugene Chen of Colorado State University will develop highly reactive, self-healing silylium catalysts and related main-group frustrated Lewis pairs for the synthesis of sustainable stereoregular and optically active polymers from renewable feedstocks. The proposed research seeks to accomplish three important project goals. First, chiral silylium catalysts will be developed that will enable site-controlled synthesis of stereoregular and optically active sustainable polymers. Second, counteranion studies will be employed to render high-speed and stereoselective polymerization by silylium catalysts. Third, the novel Lewis pair polymerizations mediated by silylium and isoelectronic alane-based Lewis pairs will be investigated as a new technique for sustainable polymer synthesis. The broader impacts of this research involve training graduate and undergraduate students, enhancing research infrastructure by bringing together an experimentalist-theoretician collaborative group, and heightening society's awareness of the roles that chemists can play in promoting the development and use of bio-derived raw materialsPlastics are long chain organic molecules and are found in many facets of everyday life, including food packaging, structural materials for automotive and aerospace transportation, and lightweight electronic devices. At present, plastics are derived predominantly from petroleum based resources and the majority of the commercial catalysts are based on transition metals. This research focuses on developing efficient alternatives to metal catalysts and new synthetic routes into technologically important or advanced plastics using bio-derived feedstocks.