Biobased copoly(acetal-triazole)s with tunable degradable properties†

Plastics are ubiquitous and essential to our society. Unfortunately, they contribute to environmental pollution due to their lack of degradation upon disposal. Here, we describe some model polymers that were used to demonstrate controlled degradation under environmental conditions (pH 7). The polymers were made from a 7 : 3 ratio of hydroquinone (HQA) and terephthalate (TPhA) alkyne derivatives with various amounts of polyethylene glycol (PEGAz) and acetal azides (AAz). Their structures were determined by ¹H NMR. The ratio of monomer units in the polymers was shown to be similar to the feed ratio. The polymers are amorphous with low glass transition temperatures (T_g). Furthermore, the polymer containing 1 : 1 ratio of PEG to acetal units was degraded in pH 5 and 7 buffer solutions over a 3 month period, whereas the polymer with only acetal group degraded at pH 5. Our results show that degradation can be controlled with different amounts of PEG and acetal groups.