Sustainable polyesters by functionalization of lignocellulosic sugars

In our paper published in Nature Chemistry, we developed a novel xylose-based platform for plastics by functionalizing xylose with glyoxylic acid in a single step. This new chemical platform molecule, diglyoxylic acid xylose (DGAX), and the corresponding dimethyl ester, dimethylglyoxylate xylose (DMGX), are stable, can be synthesized at high yields (>85%) and be used as the building block for new bio-based polymers. When polymerized with diols, the cyclic rigid and polar precursors lead to biopolyesters with competitive properties and end-of-life.