Ring-Opening Copolymerization of Biorenewable δ-Caprolactone with trans-Hexahydro-(4, 5)-benzofuranone toward Closed-Loop Recyclable Copolyesters and Their Application as Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives

Abstract

Copolymerization as an efficient strategy can provide an opportunity to create new closed-loop recyclable polymeric materials with tailored properties that are generally inaccessible to the individual homopolymers. In this contribution, the bulk ring-opening copolymerization of bio-renewable δ-caprolactone and  trans-hexahydro-(4, 5)-benzofuranone was achieved to produce closed-loop recyclable copolyesters by using an organobase/urea binary catalyst at room temperature. The obtained copolyesters exhibited composition-dependent thermal properties. Remarkably, the obtained copolyesters were able to depolymerize back to recover the corresponding monomers under mild conditions. The copolyesters with suitable compositions can be directly used as pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) that possessed comparable peel strength with the commercially available PSA scotch tapes. When the copolyesters were mixed with plasticizers, the as-prepared PSAs exhibited desirable adhesive failure and can be used as removable post-it note.

Keywords

Recyclable polymers / Ring-opening polymerization / Copolymerization / Pressure-sensitive adhesives / Aliphatic polyesters

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2024 SIOC, CAS, Shanghai, & WILEY-VCH GmbH