Green Engineered Polymers: Solvent Free, Room‐Temperature Polymerization of Monomer From a Renewable Resource, Without Utilizing Initiator.

Abstract

To abolish the bad reputation of synthetic polymer chemistry, we aimed to produce green polymers in an environmentally friendly way. It is also essential to bypass the application of components from fossil resources; those are not only polluting but also expensive ones. As an addition, we want to form engineered polymers with predetermined chain lengths and copolymerization possibilities. In this paper, we polymerized a terpene using UV triggered reversible‐deactivation radical polymerization, in bulk. No use of components from fossil resources, no high energy nor any solvent consumption; all these together show the right way towards green polymers.

Investigation on Synthesis and Application Performance of Elastomers with Biogenic Myrcene

“…In particular, its inherent long side substituent is expected to exert a strong influence on the application performance. According to existing knowledge regarding the relationship between structure and properties, the side groups in the monomer units deeply affect a wide range of performance characteristics of the corresponding polymers, with the modification and control of the side group content showing beneficial effects for a variety of applications from the “Magic Triangle” in tires to damping absorption in military industry. − Thus, a few studies on the homopolymerizations and copolymerizations of β-myrcene with other monomers, such as styrene, methacrylate, itaconic acid, and lactide, by anionic polymerization, − free radical polymerization, ,− reversible-deactivation radical polymerization, − coordinative mechanism, and cationic polymerization have been reported in recent years. However, in-depth investigations of the most important application performance characteristics of these polymers as excellent potential elastomers have been lacking.…”

Recent advances in RAFT polymerization of monomers derived from renewable resources

“…Therefore, a more environmentally friendly solvent free, room temperature, UV-initiated iniferter method was investigated. 49 Using DTC as the CTA, myrcene was polymerized in the bulk using a 360 nm UV source. While Mn increased linearly with conversion during the polymerization, relatively low conversions (22%) were achieved after 6 days reaction time and after a long period of irradiation irreversible decomposition of the CTA was observed.…”

Photoinitiators of polymerization with reduced environmental impact: Nature as an unlimited and renewable source of dyes

“…[5] Historically, photopolymerization was devoted to coatings and adhesives, [6,7] but nowadays, importance of photopolymers is unquestionable, and photopolymers can find applications in innovative research fields such as micro and nanoelectronics, 3D and 4D printing. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Benefits of photopolymerization include: spatial and temporal control of the polymerization process, [16,17] reduced carbon footprint by polymerizing in solvent-free conditions, [18] reduced manufacturing cost by enabling the use of low light intensity, cheap and compact light sources (light-emitting diodes (LEDs), laser diodes). [19] Another advantage of visible light photopolymerization also relies on the possibility to perfectly control the light penetration inside the photocurable resins which can range from a few hundreds of micrometers to centimeters, depending on the wavelength used.…”