Chemically Recyclable Biobased Non-Isocyanate Polyurethane Networks from CO2 -Derived Six-membered Cyclic Carbonates.

Abstract

Non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs) are widely studied as sustainability potential, because they can be prepared without using toxic isocyanates in the synthesis process. The aminolysis of cyclic carbonate to form NIPUs is a promising route. In this work, a series of NIPUs is prepared from renewable bis(6-membered cyclic carbonates) (iEbcc) and amines. The resulting NIPUs possess excellent mechanical properties and thermal stability. The NIPUs can be remolded via transcarbamoylation reactions, and iEbcc-TAEA-10 (the molar ratio of tris(2-aminoethyl)amine in amines is 10%) still get a recovery ratio of 90% in tensile stress after three cycles of remolding. In addition, the obtained materials can be chemically degraded into bi(1,3-diol) precursors with high purity (>99%) and yield (>90%) through alcoholysis. Meanwhile, the degraded products can be used to regenerate NIPUs with similar structures and properties as the original samples. The synthetic strategy, isocyanate-free and employing isoeugenol and carbon dioxide (CO2 ) as building blocks, makes this approach an attractive pathway to NIPU networks taking a step toward a circular economy.