Polymers From Thin Air: Direct Catalytic Coupling Of Isoprene And CO_₂ For Renewable Materials

Isoprene is one of the most abundant biogenic hydrocarbons in the atmosphere, released by forests at hundreds of teragrams per year and playing a key role in atmospheric chemistry. Meanwhile, carbon dioxide (CO₂₎ from human activities continues to accumulate in the atmosphere, driving climate change. Transforming these two abundant molecules into valuable materials in a single, efficient step has long been a challenge. Previous research to sequester CO₂ via telomerization with small olefins has resulted in new materials with high intrinsic CO₂-content and attractive properties but relied on butadiene, a finite petrochemical feedstock, limiting sustainability.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have now developed a catalytic process to directly couple isoprene and CO₂ in a single step, producing “COOIL”, a lactone monomer that will bring forward a new class of soft, functional materials. The process uses a specially designed palladium catalyst to join the isoprene molecules via telomerization and insert CO₂ under mild conditions. The resulting polymer incorporates 24% of CO₂ by weight and shows promising properties for applications such as flexible films, advanced coatings, and other high‑value materials with its low glass transition temperature of 44 °C, significantly lower than its butadiene‑based counterpart.