Synthetic carbohydrate polymers from xylose towards renewable functional materials

Abstract
Towards a circular economy, one vision for sustainable polymers involves creating materials derived from renewable feedstocks and with multiple closed-loop life cycles. However, one major challenge is to obtain materials with adequate properties. Towards this goal, our team has been investigating the incorporation of monosaccharide units into synthetic polymer backbones. Our hypothesis is that because sugars are natural, abundant, non-toxic, biodegradable, biocompatible, and highly functionalisable, renewable materials with desirable attributes could be made. In particular, we have identified D-xylose as a promising precursor for the preparation of bio-derived and functionalized polymers, due to its abundance and low cost. In this talk we will describe how various classes of xylose-based, oxygenated polymers (including ethers, esters, carbonates) can be made using polymerisation techniques such as acyclic metathesis polymerisation (ADMET), thiol-ene polymerisation, and ring-opening (co)-polymerisation (ROP and ROCOP). Xylose-based monomers can be combined with other renewable feedstocks such as fatty acids derivatives, renewable cyclic anhydrides or CO 2 , to produce polymers with up to 100% renewable content.

Bio
Originally from France, Antoine obtained his PhD from the Ecole Polytechnique in 2009, investigating the coordination chemistry of iminophosphorane ligands and their application in homogeneous catalysis, under the supervision of Prof Pascal Le Floch. He then moved to the UK and worked at Imperial College London as a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Prof Charlotte K. Williams, in the area of CO 2 /epoxide copolymers and PLA synthesis. Antoine returned to France in 2011 and gained industrial R&D experience, working for Air Liquide on Carbon Capture, Storage and Utilisation (CCSU) projects. In 2013 Antoine began his independent research career at the University of Bath. Research in his team focuses on the synthesis of novel monomers and polymers from renewable feedstocks, in particular from monosaccharides, and explores some of their applications towards functional materials (e.g., solid polymer and gel electrolytes for batteries). Antoine is also the Associate Director of the University of Bath Institute for Sustainability.