Renewable Aromatic–Aliphatic Copolyesters Derived from Rapeseed

Novel (co)polyesters are synthesized from rapeseed‐derived renewable starting materials. Aliphatic monomers are obtained from oleic and erucic acid via thiol‐ene addition, whereas ferulic acid is used for the synthesis of aromatic monomers. Copolyesters with different ratios of these monomers are prepared via base‐catalyzed transesterification reactions under neat conditions. Both monomer and polymer synthesis are optimized to achieve a high yield using environmentally benign synthetic procedures. A focus is put on applying less‐toxic reagents (i.e., avoiding halogenated compounds) and on minimizing the produced waste, in order to meet the requirements of green chemistry. The resulting thioether‐bearing (co)polyester series is analyzed, and finally oxidized to sulfone analogues. The thermal properties before and after oxidation are then compared. magnified image