Pathways to Biorenewable Circularity in Plastics

Here, I will discuss how synthetic biology provides an inexhaustible toolbox for the creation of monomers useful for the creation of next-generation circular plastics collectively known as polydiketoenamines. I will highlight how materials properties are dictated not only by the diverse functionlization afforded such strategies, but also the importance of chirality, which is inherent to biology, but lacking or otherwise challenging to scale using conventional chemical approaches. From a materials perspective, not only is it interesting to understand factors governing materials properties stemming from biofunctionalization, but these choices also deeply impact how the materials undergo deconstruction to monomers. I will discuss a variety of phenomena unique to polymers compared to small molecules that guide our understanding of polymer reactivity, particularly as they manifest at different length scales and time scales. I will showcase operando X-ray and NMR capabilities that permit mechanistic studies unperpinning deconstruction, which feedback into the materials design and biomolecular target selection.