Utilizing carbon dioxide (CO
2) to make polycarbonates through the ring-opening copolymerization (ROCOP) of CO
2 and epoxides valorizes and recycles CO
2 and reduces pollution in polymer manufacturing. Recent developments in catalysis provide access to polycarbonates with well-defined structures and allow for copolymerization with biomass-derived monomers; however, the resulting material properties are under-investigated. Here, new types of CO
2-derived thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) are described together with a generally applicable method to augment tensile mechanical strength and Young's modulus without requiring material re-design. These TPEs combine high glass transition temperature (T
g) amorphous blocks comprising CO
2-derived poly(carbonates) (A-block), with low Tg poly(ε-decalactone), from castor oil, (B-block) in ABA structures. The poly(carbonate) blocks are selectively functionalized with metal-carboxylates, where the metals are Na(I), Mg(II), Ca(II), Zn(II) and Al(III). The colorless polymers, featuring <1 wt% metal, show tunable thermal (T
g), and mechanical (elongation at break, elasticity, creep-resistance) properties. The best elastomers show >50-fold higher Young's modulus and 21-times greater tensile strength, without compromise to elastic recovery, compared with the starting block polymers. They have wide operating temperatures (-20 to 200 ˚C), high creep-resistance and yet remain recyclable. In future, these materials could substitute high-volume petrochemical elastomers and be utilized in high-growth fields like medicine, robotics and electronics.
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202302825