Publications by authors named "Yi-Min Tu"

The development of new chemically recyclable polymers via monomer design would provide a transformative strategy to address the energy crisis and plastic pollution problem. Biaryl-fused cyclic esters were targeted to generate axially chiral polymers, which would impart new material performance. To overcome the non-polymerizability of the biaryl-fused monomer DBO, a cyclic ester Me-DBO installed with dimethyl substitution was prepared to enable its polymerizability via enhancing torsional strain.

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The development of chemically recyclable polymers serves as an attractive approach to address the global plastic pollution crisis. Monomer design principle is the key to achieving chemical recycling to monomer. Herein, we provide a systematic investigation to evaluate a range of substitution effects and structure-property relationships in the ɛ-caprolactone (CL) system.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Innovative synthetic polymer systems are being developed to balance the trade-offs between how easily they break down (depolymerizability) and their performance in advanced applications and sustainability.
  • - Aromatic cyclic esters (M1-M5) were created using a straightforward one-pot synthesis, leading to the production of high-quality aromatic polyesters (P(M)s) with high molecular weights and narrow dispersities through ring-opening polymerization.
  • - The properties of P(M)s were enhanced by adjusting side-chain flexibility and stereocomplexation, resulting in high thermal stability, mechanical strength, and the ability for selective depolymerization into their original monomers, supporting a sustainable lifecycle.
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The development of high-performance recyclable polymers represents a circular plastics economy to address the urgent issues of plastic sustainability. Herein, we design a series of biobased seven-membered-ring esters containing aromatic and aliphatic moieties. Ring-opening polymerization studies showed that they readily polymerize with excellent activity (TOF up to 2.

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