Title:
MeMBL: Ring-Opening a Pathway to a Renewable, Chemically Customizable Plastic
MeMBL: Ring-Opening a Pathway to a Renewable, Chemically Customizable Plastic
| dc.contributor.author | Nolan, Michael R. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2009-02-05T19:42:53Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2009-02-05T19:42:53Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2008 | |
| dc.description | The Tower is an official publication of the Georgia Tech Board of Student Publications and is sponsored by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and the Price Gilbert Memorial Library System. This article is from Volume 1, Issue 1. | en |
| dc.description.abstract | MeMBL (α-methylene-γ-methyl-γ-butyrolactone) is a biomass-derived compound known to be polymerizable to make an acrylic material with a high glass transition temperature. Presence of a lactone ring in the structure of MeMBL can be opened to create a pathway to modification of a MeMBL polymer. This would expand the range of uses for poly(MeMBL) as a plastic. A polymer composed of pure MeMBL and a polymer composed of MeMBL and styrene (the main component of Styrofoam) were prepared, and subjected to reactions with sodium hydroxide in alcohols, water, or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Evidence of ring-opening was determined either by observation of a change in the polymer’s solubility or by NMR analysis. Both the pure MeMBL polymer and MeMBL/styrene copolymer showed evidence of ring-opening when exposed to sodium hydroxide in water, while no reaction was observed with the same treatment in alcohols. The poly(MeMBL) ring was observed to close over time. Ring-opening was found to be achievable, but ring-opening with hydroxide was found to be an ineffective pathway to further work on the opened ring. | en |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program ; Price Gilbert Memorial Library System. | en |
| dc.identifier.citation | Nolan, M. (2008). MeMBL: Ring-opening a pathway to a renewable, chemically customizable plastic.. The Tower, 1(1). Retrieved February 5, 2009, from http://ejournals.library.gatech.edu/tower/article/view/20 | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1853/26927 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en |
| dc.publisher | Georgia Institute of Technology | en |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | The Tower. Volume 1, Issue 1 | |
| dc.subject | Polymers | en |
| dc.subject | Plastics | en |
| dc.subject | Renewable plastics | en |
| dc.subject | Renewable materials | en |
| dc.subject | Green plastic | en |
| dc.title | MeMBL: Ring-Opening a Pathway to a Renewable, Chemically Customizable Plastic | en |
| dc.type | Text | |
| dc.type.genre | Article | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| local.contributor.corporatename | Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program | |
| relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication | 0db885f5-939b-4de1-807b-f2ec73714200 |