Plant‐Oil‐Based Polyamides and Polyurethanes: Toward Sustainable Nitrogen‐Containing Thermoplastic Materials

• Published in: Macromolecular rapid communications. Vol. 40; no. 1; pp. e1800524 - n/a
• Main Author: Meier, Michael A. R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.01.2019
• Subjects: Biocompatible Materials - chemical synthesis; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; Chemical synthesis; Fatty acids; Materials Testing; Molecular Structure; Monomers; Nitrogen; Nitrogen - chemistry; Nylons - chemistry; Oils & fats; Plant Oils - chemistry; Polyamide resins; Polyamides; Polymers; Polyurethane resins; polyurethanes; Polyurethanes - chemistry; Renewable resources; Sustainability; renewable resources; fatty acids; polyamides; polyurethanes; sustainability
• ISSN: 1022-1336; 1521-3927; 1521-3927
• DOI: 10.1002/marc.201800524

Plant oils and their derived fatty acids are a highly valuable renewable resource for polymer science. In this review, the use of this renewable resource for the synthesis of nitrogen‐containing step‐growth polymers, that is, polyamides and polyurethanes, is described. The focus is on the accessible structures of monomers and polymers and thus also the obtainable polymer properties. More importantly, the sustainability of the approaches is discussed and compared to each other where possible, also giving suggestions for future developments. The nitrogen makes the difference: the use of plant oils for the synthesis of nitrogen‐containing renewable step‐growth polymers, i.e., polyamides and polyurethanes, is summarized and evaluated in terms of sustainability.