The basis for these materials are a genetically modified strain of yeast (Candida tropicalis) which is able to take normal fatty acid and pin a hydroxy group on the end of the saturated chain. The picture below is from the articles abstract

The easiest reaction I can imagine would be for the material to create a self-condensing polyester - a head-to-tail combination that much like normal PET production produces water. What sets this reaction about is that normal PET is made from two monomers - ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid, while this could be made from just the single monomer. Depending on the length of the saturated carbons, you could imagine crystallinity developing to a certain extent. It could also be worthwhile to investigate the biodegradability of the new materials, as a shorter version of these, polyhydroxybutyrates are known to have this property. You also could also try reacting it with one or more additional diols to create a random copolyester.
I have no idea as to the economics of scaling up production of the these monomers - I certainly have some doubts just because it is new, but still, this post and yesterday's post should have you convinced that polymer chemistry will be undergoing a revolution at some point in the not-too-distant future. New materials with new properties, courtesy of some microbial life modified to meet our needs.
No comments:
Post a Comment