Environmentally-friendly versatile carbon-dioxide derived polymers to accelerate extrication from petroleum dependence and carbon dioxide recycling

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19H02757
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 34030:Green sustainable chemistry and environmental chemistry-related
• Research Institution: Tokyo University of Science
• Principal Investigator: Sugimoto Hiroshi 東京理科大学, 工学部工業化学科, 教授 (20271330)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 二酸化炭素 / エポキシド / 交互共重合 / ポリカルボナート / 親水性高分子 / 分解性高分子

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In the study of aliphatic polycarbonates synthesized by alternate copolymerization of carbon dioxide and epoxides, we designed structures with various oxygen-containing side chain functional groups, synthesized epoxides as starting compounds for each, and efficiently combined them with carbon dioxide.
Experiments were carried out mainly to select the metal complex catalyst that promotes copolymerization and to examine conditions for deprotection after polymerization. From the epoxide with the most experimentally advanced structure, we succeeded in synthesizing a polymer with an average molecular weight of about 10,000, and further cleaved the protective groups at about 70% of the introduced side chain functional groups to make the polymer water-soluble.

Free Research Field

高分子合成化学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

二酸化炭素を直接原料として合成される脂肪族ポリカルボナートの性能の向上，特に親水性・水溶性の付与，に関する検討を実施した。親水性・水溶性をもたらす側鎖含酸素官能基の導入に際し，ポリマー合成時の重合反応の制御や重合後の脱保護反応の条件は，主鎖構造の分解反応等と競合する関係にあるため，完璧な条件を整えるまでには至らなかったが，一定の範囲においてはポリカルボナートの水溶性化を実現できた。このことは，単に機能性材料としての用途範囲を拡大することに留まらず，環境漏洩時（海洋上）における自然の中での分解性・無害化にも繋がる重要な知見であるといえる。