Poly (dihydroferulic acid) (PHFA) from biorenewable vanillin was reported before as an alternative replacement of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Thermal properties of PHFA were found to be very close to those of commercial polyethylene terephthalate (PET). However, PHFA was insoluble in common organic solvents, and it was difficult to measure molecular weight of the obtained polymer due to difficulty of performing gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analysis. In order to modulate the physical properties of PHFA, here we report a new kind of polyester synthesized from ethyl vanillin instead of vanillin as a starting material. Ethyl group on the monomer was found to disrupt the crystallinity, improve the thermal properties and increase the solubility of the obtained polymer. 3-(4-acetoxy)-3-ethoxyphenyl) propanoic acid (AEPPA) was obtained from the reaction between ethyl vanillin and acetic anhydride through Perkin reaction and subsequent hydrogenation. Polycondensation of AEPPA was achieved using zinc acetate catalyst and resulted in poly (3-(4-acetoxy)-3-ethoxyphenyl) propanoic acid) with 75% yield and high solubility in common organic solvents. Thermal transition temperatures of the obtained polymer are very close to those of commercial PET. Polycondensation was further extended to copolymerization of AEPPA and monomers derived from vanillin and syringaldehyde. Synthesized copolymers also showed higher solubility and tunable thermal properties compared to the PHFA from vanillin.

之前曾报道过来自生物可再生香草醛的聚二氢阿魏酸（PHFA）作为聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯（PET）的替代替代品。发现PHFA的热性能与商用聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯（PET）的热性能非常接近。然而，PHFA不溶于常见的有机溶剂，并且由于难以进行凝胶渗透色谱法（GPC）分析而难以测量所得聚合物的分子量。为了调节PHFA的物理性能，在这里我们报道了一种由乙基香兰素代替香兰素为原料合成的新型聚酯。发现单体上的乙基破坏结晶度，改善热性质并增加所得聚合物的溶解度。由乙基香兰素和乙酸酐通过珀金反应和随后的氢化反应获得3-（4-乙酰氧基）-3-乙氧基苯基）丙酸（AEPPA）。使用醋酸锌催化剂实现AEPPA的缩聚反应，得到聚（3-（4-乙酰氧基）-3-乙氧基苯基）丙酸），产率为75％，在普通有机溶剂中具有高溶解度。所得聚合物的热转变温度非常接近商业PET的温度。缩聚作用进一步扩展到AEPPA与衍生自香兰素和丁香醛的单体的共聚。与香草醛的PHFA相比，合成的共聚物还显示出更高的溶解度和可调的热性能。使用醋酸锌催化剂实现AEPPA的缩聚反应，得到聚（3-（4-乙酰氧基）-3-乙氧基苯基）丙酸），产率为75％，在普通有机溶剂中具有高溶解度。所得聚合物的热转变温度非常接近商业PET的温度。缩聚作用进一步扩展到AEPPA与衍生自香兰素和丁香醛的单体的共聚。与香草醛的PHFA相比，合成的共聚物还显示出更高的溶解度和可调的热性能。使用醋酸锌催化剂实现AEPPA的缩聚反应，得到聚（3-（4-乙酰氧基）-3-乙氧基苯基）丙酸），产率为75％，在普通有机溶剂中具有高溶解度。所得聚合物的热转变温度非常接近商业PET的温度。缩聚作用进一步扩展到AEPPA与衍生自香兰素和丁香醛的单体的共聚。与香草醛的PHFA相比，合成的共聚物还显示出更高的溶解度和可调的热性能。缩聚作用进一步扩展到AEPPA与衍生自香兰素和丁香醛的单体的共聚。与香草醛的PHFA相比，合成的共聚物还显示出更高的溶解度和可调的热性能。缩聚作用进一步扩展到AEPPA与衍生自香兰素和丁香醛的单体的共聚。与香草醛的PHFA相比，合成的共聚物还显示出更高的溶解度和可调的热性能。