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Recoverable Fluorination Accelerates Ring‐Opening Copolymerisation and Enables Post‐Polymerisation‐Modification of Polyesters
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This study introduces a recoverable fluorination strategy that accelerates ring-opening copolymerization, a key reaction for producing biodegradable polymers. The technique improves reaction efficiency while allowing the fluorinating agent to be recovered and reused, making it a more practical and sustainable approach for manufacturing compostable plastic alternatives.
Fluorination of polymers is a powerful strategy to enhance chemical or material properties yet integrating these benefits into degradable polymers remains underexplored. Here, we report a new class of fluorinated polyesters synthesized via ring-opening copolymerisation of pentafluoro styrene oxide with phthalic anhydride. The pendant C6F5 groups accelerate catalysis through fluorine-specific π-stacking interactions and improve obtained molecular weights compared to the non-fluorinated variant giving access to high weight materials (Mn,max. > 100 kg mol-1) with thermal and mechanical properties competitive with commodity plastics. These C6F5 groups then act as reactive handles in the material for efficient post-polymerisation modification (PPM) in solution, allowing fine-tuning of thermal, mechanical, optical, and solubility properties. PPM can even be performed on material surfaces, films and fibres can be selectively modified without dissolution. Lastly, degradation enables quantitative recovery of fluorine centres as sodium fluoride, offering a sustainable end-of-life option for the incorporated fluorine. Our work demonstrates how targeted fluorination of degradable polyesters can simultaneously enhance catalysis and unlock advanced material functionality.
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Recoverable Fluorination Accelerates Ring-Opening Copolymerisation and Enables Post-Polymerisation-Modification of Polyesters
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers developed a new class of fluorinated polyesters by incorporating pentafluorostyrene oxide into ring-opening copolymerization, achieving high molecular weights and properties competitive with commodity plastics. The pendant fluorine groups serve dual roles—accelerating catalysis and enabling post-polymerization surface modifications—while degradation allows quantitative recovery of fluorine as sodium fluoride, providing a sustainable end-of-life pathway.
Fluoride recovery in degradable fluorinated polyesters
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Researchers synthesized a new class of degradable fluorinated polyesters by copolymerizing tetrafluorophthalic anhydride with propylene oxide or trifluoropropylene oxide, achieving up to 20 times faster degradation than non-fluorinated equivalents. The materials also allow fluoride recovery, offering potential for more sustainable use of fluorinated polymers.
Designed to Degrade: Tailoring Polyesters for Circularity
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This review explores molecular design of polyesters engineered for mechanical recycling, chemical depolymerization, or biodegradation, including hydrolyzable bonds, dynamic linkages, and embedded enzymes.
Chemically Recyclable Poly(1,3‐dioxolane) with High Molecular Weight Achieved Using a Fluorinated Strategy of Organocatalyst
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Researchers synthesized high-molecular-weight poly(1,3-dioxolane) using a perfluorinated boron organocatalyst and demonstrated near-complete chemical recycling back to pure monomer using recoverable phosphotungstic acid, even in the presence of pigments or mixed plastic waste — establishing a metal-free circular plastics pathway with mechanical properties exceeding conventional polyethylene.
Development of an Efficient Thionolactone for Radical Ring-Opening Polymerization by a Combined Theoretical/Experimental Approach
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Researchers used DFT calculations to identify a new thionolactone monomer, 7-phenyloxepane-2-thione (POT), optimized for radical ring-opening polymerization (rROP) to introduce degradable bonds into commodity polymer backbones. Copolymerization of POT with styrene and acrylate derivatives produced statistical copolymers that degraded efficiently under accelerated conditions, confirming the theoretical design approach for creating degradable plastics.
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