Sustainable Polymer synthesis with Innovative Catalytic Strategies

Biocarbon is renewable, abundant, and non-toxic. This project will enable the recycling of biocarbon into valuable precursor materials for the chemical and polymer industries. Using new catalysts to convert biocarbon into monomers and polymers will enable the creation of chemicals such as carbonates, carbamates, carboxylic acids, esters, pharmaceutical synthons and biomass/CO2-based polymers. By employing catalysis to valorise biocarbon, it will open up the possibility of creating polyesters, carbonates and amides for novel tailor made materials. The project will also explore depolymerisation methods to recycle the synthesised polymers.