Natural Product-Based Engineering Polymers: A Special Emphasis Toward Degradable Polycarbonate Materials From Quinic Acid and Cellulose
Abstract
To address the growing demand for environmentally responsible plastics within and beyond the chemical manufacturing industry, this thesis will examine the synthesis and characterization of a novel class of degradable polycarbonate materials derived from natural precursors and additives. Discussion will first center on the use of solvent-free and light-initiated thiol-ene chemistry towards the fabrication of cross-linked network composites derived from quinic acid and reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals. The focus will then shift to a comparative analysis of these materials designed to ascertain the correlation between increasing cellulose content and bulk thermal and mechanical properties and mechanism of degradation under physiological conditions. These efforts will afford novel bio-based engineering polymer nanocomposites with distinct, tunable thermomechanical properties and resorbable degradation products.
Citation
Versaw, Brooke A. (2018). Natural Product-Based Engineering Polymers: A Special Emphasis Toward Degradable Polycarbonate Materials From Quinic Acid and Cellulose. Undergraduate Research Scholars Program. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /194449.