This thesis concerns the exploration of esterification and transesterification in ionic liquids (ILs) and the use of the knowledge produced by that exploration to inform the efficient synthesis of highly functional polyesters from renewable resources.
The first part, Chapter 6, concerns the effect of solvents on acid catalysed esterification. It describes how solvents, including ILs, affect the rate of such reactions and rationalises this influence using Kamlet Taft solvent polarity descriptors. This chapter also touches on more fundamental questions about acidity in ILs and covers Brønsted and Lewis acids.
The second part, Chapter 7, explores transesterification in a similar fashion. In this instance, acid, organic base and lipase enzyme are all explored as potential catalysts in ionic and molecular solvents. Again, Kamlet Taft solvent polarity descriptors are used to help rationalise solvent effects.
Finally, Chapter 8, describes the use of ILs as solvents for polyesterification and polytransesterification. The relative solubilities of some renewable monomers are determined in a range of ILs and a number of different polycondensations are studied in ILs and molecular solvents considered most appropriate in each case. This Chapter seeks to reach a conclusion about the appropriateness of ILs as solvents for the synthesis of functional polyesters, and the reasons behind that conclusion.