Smartly designed chemically recyclable high-performance polymers via photocyclization of bioderived building blocks

The current linear production and consumption of plastics is unsustainable and undermines our climate and sustainability goals. The transition into circular plastics economy based on non-fossil raw materials is inevitable. This project develops a new sustainable platform for novel bio-derived polymers used in applications with strict property demands (e.g., engineering plastics, coatings, packaging, etc). Such polymers are hard to achieve from bio-sources in a viable manner. We aim for polycyclic monomers, which are structurally rigid and can be efficiently obtained from lignocellulosic biomass. Moreover, these monomers have a built-in feature, which enables the chemical recycling/upcycling of the corresponding polymer materials under controlled conditions. The fate and toxicity of the new polymers will be evaluated to avoid negative environmental consequences in the future. The realization of the project will facilitate the transition into sustainable chemical industry.