Thermally Stable Bio-Based Aliphatic Polycarbonates with Quadra-Cyclic Diol from Renewable Sources

CM diol (i.e., 2,4:3,5-di-O-camphor-D-mannitol) is bio-based monomer derived from D-mannitol and camphor. CM diol consists of complex hexagonal rings that are linked as the form of spiro, fused and bridged ring and the structure of CM diol influence the rigidity and thermal properties. Primary alcohol at the ends of CM diol is more reactive than secondary alcohol in isosorbide which is applied for the field of polycarbonate. A series of copolycarbonates based on CM diol was synthesized and a homo-polycarbonate except bisphenol A (BPA) diol had a high Tg value of 164 °C, which is higher than Tg (138 °C) of polycarbonates based on BPA (BPA-PC). In addition, the polycarbonates containing CM diol showed enhanced susceptibility to hydrolysis at acidic solution and decomposed better than BPA-PC.