Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Issue: 7633

License: http://www.springer.com/tdm

Publication date(s): 2016/12 (print) 2016/12/14 (online)

Pages: 354-362

Volume: 540 Issue: 7633

Journal: Nature

Link: http://www.nature.com/articles/nature21001.pdf

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature21001

Renewable resources are used increasingly in the production of polymers. In particular, monomers such as carbon dioxide, terpenes, vegetable oils and carbohydrates can be used as feedstocks for the manufacture of a variety of sustainable materials and products, including elastomers, plastics, hydrogels, flexible electronics, resins, engineering polymers and composites. Efficient catalysis is required to produce monomers, to facilitate selective polymerizations and to enable recycling or upcycling of waste materials. There are opportunities to use such sustainable polymers in both high-value areas and in basic applications such as packaging. Life-cycle assessment can be used to quantify the environmental benefits of sustainable polymers.

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