Diels-Alder Reactions as versatile tools for the design of renewable polymers based on furanic cyclobutanes

• Grant number: 21/02903-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: June 01, 2021
• End date: May 07, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Talita Martins Lacerda
• Grantee: Luan Moreira Grilo
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de Lorena (EEL). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Lorena , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Polymeric materials have drastically changed the society in the last century, and the maintenance of modern life without the use of synthetic polymers is now impossible in many ways. However, their indiscriminate use and disposal resulted in a huge accumulation of waste in the environment, which is a great threat to ecosystems, biodiversity and human beings. Additionally, the non-renewable origin of most polymeric materials raises a wide discussion about the emission of greenhouse gases, which must be considerably reduced to minimize global warming. Thus, the establishment of a consolidated production of polymers considering the principles of green and sustainable chemistry became a hot research topic in the last decades, and it is now possible to design synthetic processes that avoid the production of waste and maximize the incorporation of all starting materials in the final product, prioritizing the use of renewable sources of raw materials. Click chemistry is a very important tool in this context, providing essential guidelines and techniques for the production of new materials that have inherent reduced environmental impacts. Herein, a PhD project is presented, which is strongly inserted in the strategy of using renewable platforms for the synthesis of new macromolecular materials. It can be divided into four fundamental steps, focusing on (i) the synthesis of polyfunctional furanic cyclobutane monomers from acrylic 3- (2-furyl) acid; (ii) the polymerization of furanic cyclobutanes via Diels-Alder reaction with maleimide derivatives; (iii) the synthesis and characterization of methyl ±-eleostearate from tung oil, aiming at understanding its dienic/dienophilic nature when subjected to the Diels-Alder reaction with methyl furan; (iv) the polymerization of furanic cyclobutanes via Diels-Alder reaction with tung oil; and (v) the evaluation of the viability of chemically recycling the synthesized polymers via retro-Diels-Alder reactions. The monomers and polymers obtained will be characterized by the relevant techniques, and it is intended, therefore, to develop novel fully renewable macromolecular materials. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MOREIRA GRILO, LUAN; FAORO, SARA; FOLKERSMA, RUDY; LACERDA, TALITA MARTINS; MAZZOCCHETTI, LAURA; LOOS, KATJA; MANIAR, DINA. Biobased Networks from Lignin/Cellulose via Diels-Alder Click Chemistry. ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS, v. 6, n. 22, p. 12-pg., 2024-10-25. (21/02903-4)