Continuous Polymer Synthesis and Manufacturing of Polyurethane Elastomers Enabled by Automation.

Connecting polymer synthesis and processing is an important challenge for streamlining the manufacturing of polymeric materials. In this work, the automated synthesis of acrylate-capped polyurethane oligomers is integrated with vat photopolymerization 3D printing. This strategy enabled the rapid manufacturing of a library of polyurethane-based elastomeric materials with differentiated thermal and mechanical properties.

Modifying Poly(caprolactone) Degradation through C-H Functionalization.

There is a growing need for degradable polymers for applications in sustainable plastics and medical implants. To enhance the utility of degradable polymers, both better understanding of the factors that influence their degradation and new tools to modulate degradation are needed. We report the C-H xanthylation of poly(caprolactone), a biodegradable polyester, which results in changes in materials properties even at small incorporations.

Ni/Photoredox-Catalyzed Enantioselective Cross-Electrophile Coupling of Styrene Oxides with Aryl Iodides.

A Ni/photoredox-catalyzed enantioselective reductive coupling of styrene oxides and aryl iodides is reported. This reaction affords access to enantioenriched 2,2-diarylalcohols from racemic epoxides via a stereoconvergent mechanism. Multivariate linear regression (MVLR) analysis with 29 bioxazoline (BiOx) and biimidazoline (BiIm) ligands revealed that enantioselectivity correlates with electronic properties of the ligands, with more electron-donating ligands affording higher ee's.