Projects per year
Abstract
Sustainably producing plastic precursors that lead to performance properties in a variety of material chemistries is a major challenge—especially considering that most performance materials use aromatic structures that are still difficult to source sustainably. Here, we demonstrate catalyst-free, melt polymerization of dimethyl glyoxylate xylose (DMGX), a stabilized-carbohydrate that can be synthesized from agricultural waste with 97 % atom efficiency, into amorphous polyamides with semi-aromatic performance. Despite the presence of a carbohydrate core, these materials retained their thermomechanical properties through multiple rounds of high-shear mechanical recycling and could be chemically recycled. Technoeconomic and life cycle analyses suggested selling prices comparable to those of nylon 66 with a reduction of global warming potential of up to 75 %. This work illustrates the versatility of a stabilized-carbohydrate monomer to impart semi-aromatic performance in both degradable polyesters and highly durable engineering polyamides.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Nature Sustainability |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 13 Mar 2024 |
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Dive into the research topics of 'Performance polyamides built on a sustainable carbohydrate core'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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One Bin to Rule Them All
Shaver, M. (PI), Holmes, H. (CoI) & Sharmina, M. (CoI)
1/11/20 → 31/01/24
Project: Research