Ananda S. Amarasekara*, Muhammad A. Hasan, Eve Larkin
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.1, pp. 62-66, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2016.634129
Abstract Condensation polymerization of renewable resources-based monomers, 4-ketopimelic acid and glycerol, were studied using two different catalysts; p-toluenesulfonic acid and Sb2O3. The highest polymer yield of 96% was achieved by using a 3:4 mole ratio mixture of 4-ketopimelic acid and glycerol, with Sb2O3 (0.5 mol% relative to 4-ketopimelic acid) as catalyst and heating at 23–210 °C, under N2 for 1 h; then 210 °C, vacuum, 12 h. The poly(4-ketopimelic acid-glycerol) formed is insoluble in all common organic solvents and is shown to contain a branched polymeric structure with ketal and ester links by using FT-IR, 1H More >