Work-hardening Photopolymer from Renewable Photoactive 3,3'-(2,5-Furandiyl)bisacrylic Acid

Enzymatic polymerization: Recent advances toward sustainable polymer synthesis

Enzymatic polymerization has emerged as a sustainable strategy for synthesizing biodegradable, biocompatible polymers, addressing critical environmental challenges posed by conventional petroleum-based materials. This review comprehensively explores advancements from the past five years, spotlighting six pivotal enzymes lipase, horseradish peroxidase, laccase, glucose oxidase, glucosyltransferase, and phosphorylase-alongside synergistic multi-enzymatic systems that enable complex polymerization cascades. Diverging from prior reviews focused on individual enzymes or specific polymer classes (e.g., polyesters, polyamides), our work provides a systematic classification of enzymatic polymerization mechanisms, emphasizing substrate specificity, reaction efficiency, and product diversity. Integrating advances in enzyme engineering, cascade catalysis, and green chemistry, this analysis outlines strategies to customize polymer architectures, identifies challenges in scaling enzymatic processes, and underscores opportunities for industrial applications. It advocates interdisciplinary innovation to advance sustainable polymer synthesis aligned with circular economy principles, emphasizing enzymatic methods' transformative potential for eco-friendly manufacturing paradigms.

Facile Synthesis of a Novel Furanic Monomer and Its ADMET Polymerization toward Fully Renewable Functional Polymers

Efficient and sustainable transformation of biomass-derived chemicals to materials with the potential to replace conventional fossil-derived polymers is considered a major challenge. In this work, we disclose the synthesis of a novel furan-based α,ω-diene monomer following a facile, green, and energy-efficient process from fully renewable starting materials. The multifunctional monomer was produced by the base-catalyzed cross-aldol condensation of 10-undecenal (UA) and 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) under mild conditions, providing the desired product in good yields. By employing the new monomer, fully biobased polymers were prepared in good molecular weights (M n up to 31 kg/mol) by acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization using Grubb's second-generation catalysts. The structure-property investigation of the polymers revealed T g in the range of -16 to 5 °C, high thermal stability, good hydrophobicity, and photoactive properties. Owning to the presence of amenable functional groups, the resultant polymer was also subjected to postpolymerization modifications. The effect of these modifications on the polymer properties showed enhanced crystallization attributed to hydrogen bonding interactions. This work demonstrates a scalable and environmentally benign approach to access structurally novel and versatile materials exhibiting interesting properties from 100% biobased resources.

Diverse Applications of Biomass-Derived 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural and Derivatives as Renewable Starting Materials

This Review summarizes recent efforts to capitalize on 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and related furans as emerging building blocks for the synthesis of fine chemicals and materials, with a focus on advanced applications within medicinal and polymer chemistry, as well as nanomaterials. As with all chemical industries, these fields have historically relied heavily on petroleum-derived starting materials, an unsustainable and polluting feedstock. Encouragingly, the emergent chemical versatility of biomass-derived furans has been shown to facilitate derivatization towards valuable targets. Continued work on the synthetic manipulation of HMF, and related derivatives, for access to a wide range of target compounds and materials is crucial for further development. Increasingly, biomass-derived furans are being utilized for a wide range of chemical applications, the continuation of which is paramount to accelerate the paradigm shift towards a sustainable chemical industry.

Replacement of Less-Preferred Dipolar Aprotic and Ethereal Solvents in Synthetic Organic Chemistry with More Sustainable Alternatives

Dipolar aprotic and ethereal solvents comprise just over 40% of all organic solvents utilized in synthetic organic, medicinal, and process chemistry. Unfortunately, many of the common "go-to" solvents are considered to be "less-preferable" for a number of environmental, health, and safety (EHS) reasons such as toxicity, mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, or for practical handling reasons such as flammability and volatility. Recent legislative changes have initiated the implementation of restrictions on the use of many of the commonly employed dipolar aprotic solvents such as dimethylformamide (DMF) and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP), and for ethers such as 1,4-dioxane. Thus, with growing legislative, EHS, and societal pressures, the need to identify and implement the use of alternative solvents that are greener, safer, and more sustainable has never been greater. Within this review, the ubiquitous nature of dipolar aprotic and ethereal solvents is discussed with respect to the physicochemical properties that have made them so appealing to synthetic chemists. An overview of the current legislative restrictions being imposed on the use of dipolar aprotic and ethereal solvents is discussed. A variety of alternative, safer, and more sustainable solvents that have garnered attention over the past decade are then examined, and case studies and examples where less-preferable solvents have been successfully replaced with a safer and more sustainable alternative are highlighted. Finally, a general overview and guidance for solvent selection and replacement are included in the Supporting Information of this review.

Crystal Engineering Construction of Caffeic Acid Derivatives with Potential Applications in Pharmaceuticals and Degradable Polymeric Materials

Natural products are precious feedstock in drug discovery and sustainable materials. This work using crystal engineering strategy, visible light, and solvent-free cycloaddition successfully constructed two caffeic acid derivatives, rel-(1R,2R,3S,4S)-2,4-bis(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)cyclobutane-1,3-dicarboxylate and rel-(1R,2R,3S,4S)-2,4-bis(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)cyclobutane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid. Because of the multiple stereocenters, it is challenging to prepare those compounds using traditional organic synthesis methods. The crystal engineering Hirshfeld surface analysis and 2D intermolecular interaction fingerprints were applied to synthetic route design. The light resources used in this work was visible LED or free, clean, and renewable sunlight. The evidence suggested that pure stereoisomer was obtained demonstrating the stereospecificity and efficiency of the topochemical cycloaddition reaction. The derivatives exhibited free radical scavenging and antioxidant biological activities, as well as the potential inhibitory activity of fatty acid binding proteins. One of the derivatives is the precursor of the natural product Shimobashiric acid C which paves the way for the total synthesis and further study of Shimobashiric acid C. In addition, the derivatives possess photodegradability at a specific wavelength, which is very attractive for "green" degradable polymeric materials.