Fraunhofer IGB, Bio, Electro and Chemocatalysis BioCat, Straubing Branch, Schulgasse 11a, 94315, Straubing, Germany.
Technical University of Munich, Campus Straubing for Biotechnology and Sustainability, Schulgasse 16, 94315, Straubing, Germany.
Nat Commun. 2020 Jan 24;11(1):509. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-14361-6.
The use of renewable feedstock is one of the twelve key principles of sustainable chemistry. Unfortunately, bio-based compounds often suffer from high production cost and low performance. To fully tap the potential of natural compounds it is important to utilize their functionalities that could make them superior compared to fossil-based resources. Here we show the conversion of (+)-3-carene, a by-product of the cellulose industry into ε-lactams from which polyamides. The lactams are selectively prepared in two diastereomeric configurations, leading to semi-crystalline or amorphous, transparent polymers that can compete with the thermal properties of commercial high-performance polyamides. Copolyamides with caprolactam and laurolactam exhibit an increased glass transition and amorphicity compared to the homopolyamides, potentially broadening the scope of standard polyamides. A four-step one-vessel monomer synthesis, applying chemo-enzymatic catalysis for the initial oxidation step, is established. The great potential of the polyamides is outlined.
使用可再生原料是可持续化学的十二项关键原则之一。不幸的是，生物基化合物通常存在生产成本高和性能低的问题。为了充分挖掘天然化合物的潜力，利用其功能使其优于基于化石的资源是很重要的。在这里，我们展示了（+）-蒈烯（纤维素工业的副产品）转化为ε-内酰胺，然后进一步制备聚酰胺的过程。内酰胺可以以两种非对映异构体构型选择性制备，得到半结晶或无定形透明聚合物，可以与商业高性能聚酰胺的热性能相媲美。与己内酰胺和月桂内酰胺共聚的聚酰胺与均聚酰胺相比，玻璃化转变温度和非晶性增加，可能拓宽了标准聚酰胺的应用范围。建立了一种四步一锅单体合成方法，采用化学-酶催化进行初始氧化步骤。概述了这些聚酰胺的巨大潜力。
