Poly(dihydroferulic acid) a biorenewable polyethylene terephthalate mimic derived from lignin and acetic acid and copolymers thereof
View Patent ↗A biorenewable thermoplastic, poly(dihydroferulic acid) (PHFA), which is an effective polyethylene terephthalate (PET) mimic is disclosed. The PHFA can be prepared by the self-condensation of acetyldihydroferulic acid as the monomer that can be synthesized from the starting material-ferulic acid, which can be isolated from lignin, rice bran, or other biorenewable sources.
1. A biorenewable thermoplastic poly(dihydroferulic acid), consisting of repeating units of the structure
and end-groups.
2. The biorenewable thermoplastic poly(dihydroferulic acid) of claim 1 , wherein the poly(dihydroferulic acid) has at least one acetoxy end-group.
3. A method of preparing poly(dihydroferulic acid) according to claim 1 comprising:
providing acetyldihydroferulic acid and a catalyst; and
polymerizing the acetyldihydroferulic acid to a poly(dihydroferulic acid) with the liberation of acetic acid.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the acetyldihydroferulic acid is derived from one or more biorenewable sources.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the biorenewable source is lignin or rice bran.
6. The method of claim 3 , wherein the catalyst comprises an oxide, alkoxide or acetate of Sb, Ti, Ge, Hg, Si, Zr, Al, or Zn.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the catalyst is Zn(OAc) 2 .
8. The method of claim 3 , wherein polymerizing is carried out under vacuum.
9. The method of claim 3 , wherein polymerizing is carried out at a temperature of 200 to 300° C.