New piperidinones as material platform for reversible polymer chemistries

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Michael Sommer; Professor Dr. Manfred Wilhelm
• Subject Area: Polymer Materials
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 506218062

Reversible polymerizations and chemical recycling of polymeric materials is becoming increasingly important for the role of plastics in the actual debate on waste stream management and environmental aspects. Degrading polymeric materials on demand, in a controlled way, with high efficiency and while retaining a high value and purity of degradation products are all key aspects to the future success of closed-loop recycling strategies. This proposal is concerned with the establishment of new and versatile piperidinone-based multifunctional monomers for linear and cross-linked polymer architectures that can be degraded on demand (pH and temperature). Piperidinones show high, aldehyde-like reactivity in addition and condensation reactions with nucleophiles such as alcohols or amines to give hemiacetals/acetals or hemiaminals/aminals, respectively. By tailoring reactivity and functionality of the piperidinone monomer as well as of the nucleophile, structure, architecture and stability of the polymeric product, as well as reversibility of the reaction is highly tunable. The resulting linear and cross-linked polymer architectures with broadly varying properties will be designed for diverse applications such as reversible thermosets, biodegradable high Tg thermoplastics or solid state polyelectrolytes for lithium ion batteries. Fundamental investigations on monomer reactivity will accompany monomer development, polymerization and structural characterization to establish piperidinones as a new material platform.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants