Renewable Aromatic-Aliphatic Copolyesters Derived from Rapeseed

Novel (co)polyesters are synthesized from rapeseed-derived renewable starting materials. Aliphatic monomers are obtained from oleic and erucic acid via thiol-ene addition, whereas ferulic acid is used for the synthesis of aromatic monomers. Copolyesters with different ratios of these monomers are prepared via base-catalyzed transesterification reactions under neat conditions. Both monomer and polymer synthesis are optimized to achieve a high yield using environmentally benign synthetic procedures. A focus is put on applying less-toxic reagents (i.e., avoiding halogenated compounds) and on minimizing the produced waste, in order to meet the requirements of green chemistry. The resulting thioether-bearing (co)polyester series is analyzed, and finally oxidized to sulfone analogues. The thermal properties before and after oxidation are then compared.