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BIODEGRADABLE POLYMERS

New stereocontrol on the block

Nature Chemistry volume 12, pages 107–109 (2020)Cite this article

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It is crucial to replace fossil fuel-based plastics with biodegradable ones that are made from renewable sources. Now, a new generation of bioplastics has been prepared through the stereoselective polymerization of diastereomeric monomers — a synthetic approach that allows tuning of the materials’ toughness, ductility and melting point.

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Fig. 1: Structure of the catalysts investigated.
Fig. 2: Diastereoselective copolymerization of 8DL derivatives.

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  1. Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

    Sonja Herres-Pawlis

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  1. Sonja Herres-Pawlis
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Correspondence to Sonja Herres-Pawlis.

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Herres-Pawlis, S. New stereocontrol on the block. Nat. Chem. 12, 107–109 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-020-0417-4

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