PhD Oral Defense: Synthesis and characterization of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural derivative based materials
PhD Oral Defense of Daihui Zhang, Department of Bioresource Engineering
The production of polymers from petroleum-based chemicals has caused serious sustainability concerns, therefore stimulating the development of bio-based polymers. 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a promising platform chemical that has been widely utilized in various fields, such as biofuels precursors, fine chemicals synthesis, and monomers to polymers. The synthesis of HMF derivative based polymers offers a wide range of possibilities. Therefore, the main objective of this research was to synthesize and characterize HMF derivative based linear polymers or networks with tunable structures and properties using the thiol-Michael addition reaction. Furthermore, the potential applications were explored as well.