Mandelic acid (MA) was utilized as a chiral biomass‐based precursor to synthesize methacrylic monomers suitable for radical polymerization. A series of polymers were made that incorporated varying feeds of monomer stereopurity and the properties of these materials were investigated. High molar masses (>90 kg/mol) were achieved and the chirality in each polymer closely reflected the stereopurity of the monomer feeds. It was discovered that stereochemical effects had very little influence on the thermal and viscoelastic properties of the polymers produced, however, the steric bulk of the chiral pendants resulted in glassy, amorphous, and thermally stable materials with very low degrees of entanglement. The synthesis, thermal, and viscoelastic properties are discussed.

中文翻译：

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基于扁桃酸的聚甲基丙烯酸酯的探索：合成，性质和立体化学作用

扁桃酸（MA）被用作基于手性生物质的前体，以合成适合自由基聚合的甲基丙烯酸单体。制备了一系列聚合物，其中掺入了不同的单体立体纯度进料，并研究了这些材料的性质。获得高摩尔质量（> 90 kg / mol），并且每种聚合物中的手性紧密反映单体进料的立体纯度。发现立体化学效应对所生产的聚合物的热和粘弹性几乎没有影响，但是，手性侧基的空间体积导致玻璃态，无定形和热稳定的材料具有非常低的缠结度。讨论了合成，热和粘弹性能。