Renewable Polyols for Polyurethane Synthesis via Thiol-ene/yne Couplings of Plant Oils

There is no doubt that nature offers an abundance of opportunities to polymer chemists for shaping structural and functional polymers in its wide variety of raw materials. Nowadays, plant oils and derivatives are in the spotlight of polyurethane technology and the design of novel biobased polyols derived from them is an active area of research. The contribution of this technology to sustainable development must go further than simply exploit renewable feedstock, and therefore must be aware of efficient click-chemistry transformations exemplified by thiol-ene/yne couplings. Within this contribution, these biobased materials, together with thiol-ene/yne couplings are presented as a perfect ecofriendly combination to prepare hydroxyl building blocks for polyurethane technology.