Room temperature cationic polymerization of β-pinene using modified AlCl3 catalyst: toward sustainable plastics from renewable biomass resources

The polymerization of beta-pinene is efficiently prompted by AlCl3 etherates to afford relatively high molecular weight polymers (M-n = 9000-14 000 g mol(-1)) with good thermal properties (T-g = 82-87 degrees C) at room temperature and low catalyst content (2.5-5.5 mM).