Synthesizing Biodegradable Polymers from Carbon Dioxide and Carbon Monoxide Anna Fiorini, Chris Bennett, Lendee Henry

How it was discovered - CO and CO ₂ are ideal feedstocks for polymer synthesis - No way to make them into valuable polymers - New family of catalysts that convert CO ₂ and CO into polymers - Innovative process to synthesize plastics from inexpensive, biorenewable substances including CO ₂, CO, plant oils, and lactic acid

Who discovered it Professor Geoffrey Coates developed a new family of catalysts the can effectively turn CO2 and CO into valuable polymers With high turnover frequencies, less amount of these catalysts are required leading to cost-effective commercial production

How it works - Active and selective catalysts copolymerize CO ₂ and epoxides into high- performance polycarbonates - New class of catalysts can insert molecules of CO ₂ into an epoxide ring to produce even more reactive polymers - These polymers contain ester and carbonate linkages - Unique commodity in plastic applications - Sometimes biodegradable

How it can be used  Novomer Inc. “Converting pollution into sustainable polymers and chemicals”   Can and oil coatings, adhesives, foam, and plastic  Synthesizing pharmaceuticals  Potential to create a coating to replace BPA

Benefits - Requires little catalyst for reaction - High turnover frequencies - High turnover numbers - In some cases entirely biodegradable - “The number of moles of substrate that a mole of a catalyst can convert before becoming inactive” - “New polycarbonate coating is expected to require 50% less petroleum to produce” - “Novomer materials have the potential to sequester and avoid approximately 180 million metric tons of annual CO2 emissions”

What problems could stem from this - Still creates non-biodegradable plastics - Debate that more CO ₂ could be generated in the process - Unknown amount of testing needed to determine if it is fully safe