Polycarbonate, green synthesis

Examples of acid-catalyzed carbonyl chemistiy are abundant in synthetic organic chemistry, biochemistry, industrial processes (such as in the synthesis of malachite green eq 5), and in polymer chemistry (such as in the synthesis of bisphenols of derived epoxy and polycarbonate resins eq 6).9... 

Renewable feedstocks can also be used as the raw materials for the synthesis of green, biodegradable polymers. A pertinent example is polylactate, derived from lactic acid which is produced by fermentation (see earlier). Another recent example is the production of polycarbonates by reaction of C02 with (R)-limonene oxide in the presence of a zinc catalyst (Fig. 8.47) [221]. 

Green chemistry offers the scientific option to deal with the problems associated with hazardous substances. An example is the alternative synthesis of polycarbonate, a polymer that has been commercially produced by the polycondensation between bisphenol-A and phosgene. The traditional synthesis is shown in Figure 12.2. Because phosgene is highly poisonous, a safer option is to use diphenyl carbonate as a non-toxic carbonylation reagent. See Figure 12.3 (Anastas and Williamson, 1996). 

The foregoing examples of phosgene-free methods for synthesis of carbamates, isocyanates, ureas, polycarbonates, dyes, polymers, and other pharmaceutical or agrochemical intermediates and products all illustrate ways that green chemistry reduces the environmental impact... 

---