Thanks to KAUST’s generous research funding some unconventional ideas objecting common wisdom on how to efficiently copolymerize CO2 with epoxides could be tested, leading to the swift development of various generations of original, metal-free catalytic/initiating systems. It then took several years to find industrial applications for this novel polycarbonate/polyether chemistry; the talk will in particular discuss three of them:
-degradable CO2-based surfactants
-degradable CO2-based block copolymers as substitutes to environmentally persisting polyolefins
-polycarbonate/polyether telechelics using ultra-active metal-free catalysts
The talk will also discuss how to shorten the time between bench discovery and pilot scale application.
Distinguished Professor at KAUST, Chemical Science Special Advisor, Office of the President