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Simon Neumann, Lisa-Cathrin Leitner, Holger Schmalz, Seema Agarwal, Andreas Greiner

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2020 https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c00895

Poly(limonene carbonate) (PLimC) has a huge potential as a sustainable biobased polymer due to its promising property profile and the availability of the raw materials from nonedible resources, i.e., limonene from orange peel. PLimC and related terpene-based polycarbonates have not been processed from the melt state successfully due to their comparably low decomposition temperatures. Indeed, melt-processed PLimC samples are brittle and colorized. To change the paradigm, we have investigated compounds of PLimC with biobased ethyl oleate (EtOL). The glass transition temperature (T_g) and melt viscosity of these compounds can be readily controlled by the EtOL content. The melt-processed PLimC/EtOL compounds showed improved mechanical properties without significant loss in optical properties as compared to neat PLimC. Interestingly, the PLimC/EtOL compounds could be melt-processed a second time without significant loss of mechanical and optical properties, which could mark an important step toward recyclability.