Upgrading castor oil: From heptanal to non-isocyanate poly(amide-hydroxyurethane)s

Intensive research has recently been carried out to synthesize non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs) from five-membered cyclic carbonates and amines as a sustainable route to industrial relevant polyurethanes. Herein, an activated disubstituted cyclic carbonate and methyl ester containing monomer CE was prepared using castor oil based heptanal and CO 2 . Good results for the catalytic cycloaddition have been obtained using renewable sugar cane bagasse in combination with TBAB, and this system has been shown to be recyclable. A novel poly(amide-hydroxyurethane) ( PAHU ) was obtained by bulk ring-opening and amidation polymerization of high reactive CE with 1,6-diaminohexane at low temperature and in absence of catalyst. PAHU contains aliphatic pendant moieties allowing its self-assembling into nanoparticles in aqueous solution, showing potential application in catalysis or drug delivery among other applications.