Pressure sensitive adhesives are ubiquitous in commodity products such as tapes, bandages, labels, packaging, and insulation. With single use plastics comprising almost half of yearly plastic production, it is essential that the design, synthesis, and decomposition products of future materials, including polymer adhesives, are within the context of a healthy ecosystem along with comparable or superior performance to conventional materials. Here we show a series of sustainable polymeric adhesives, with an eco-design, that perform in both dry and wet environments. The terpolymerization of propylene oxide, glycidyl butyrate, and CO2, catalyzed by a cobalt salen complex bearing a quaternary ammonium salt, yields the poly(propylene-co-glycidyl butyrate carbonate)s (PPGBC)s. This polymeric adhesive system, composed of environmentally benign building blocks, implements carbon dioxide sequestration techniques, poses minimal environmental hazards, exhibits varied peel strengths from scotch tape to hot-melt wood-glue, and adheres to metal, glass, wood, and Teflon® surfaces.

Insertion of CO 2 into the polyacrylate backbone, forming poly(carbonate) analogues,p rovides an environmentally friendly and biocompatible alternative.T he synthesis of five poly(carbonate) analogues of poly(methyl acrylate), poly(ethyl acrylate), and poly(butyl acrylate) is described. The polymers are prepared using the salen cobalt(III) complex catalyzedcopolymerization of CO 2 and aderivatized oxirane. All the carbonate analogues possess higher glass-transition temperatures (T g = 32 to À5 8 8C) than alkylacrylates (T g = 10 to À50 8 8C), however,t he carbonate analogues (T d % 230 8 8C) undergo thermal decomposition at lower temperatures than their acrylate counterparts (T d % 380 8 8C). The poly(alkyl carbonates) exhibit compositional-dependent adhesivity.T he poly(carbonate) analogues degrade into glycerol, alcohol, and CO 2 in at ime-and pH-dependent manner with the rate of degradation accelerated at higher pH conditions,incontrast to poly(acrylate)s.

Nanoconfinement of a polymer film affords a reduction of the glass transition temperature (T g) and effective viscosity ( eff). Early on, Prof. Tisato Kajiyama pioneered the idea of enhanced polymer mobility at the free surface. This concept is now well established, and accounts for the T g and  eff reductions of thin polymer films. To pay tribute to Prof. Kajiyama's seminal contribution, it is fitting to report in this special issue the use of ultraviolet ozone (UVO) to chemically modify the surface of polymer films and thereby alter their dynamical properties for the first time. Specifically, we show that with a brief exposure time of only 1.0 second under typical UVO treatment conditions, the  eff of polystyrene (PS) films supported by silica changes

Insertion of CO2 into the polyacrylate backbone, forming poly(carbonate) analogues, provides an environmentally friendly and biocompatible alternative. The synthesis of five poly(carbonate) analogues of poly(methyl acrylate), poly(ethyl acrylate), and poly(butyl acrylate) is described. The polymers are prepared using the salen cobalt(III) complex catalyzed copolymerization of CO2 and a derivatized oxirane. All the carbonate analogues possess higher glass‐transition temperatures (Tg=32 to −5 °C) than alkyl acrylates (Tg=10 to −50 °C), however, the carbonate analogues (Td≈230 °C) undergo thermal decomposition at lower temperatures than their acrylate counterparts (Td≈380 °C). The poly(alkyl carbonates) exhibit compositional‐dependent adhesivity. The poly(carbonate) analogues degrade into glycerol, alcohol, and CO2 in a time‐ and pH‐dependent manner with the rate of degradation accelerated at higher pH conditions, in contrast to poly(acrylate)s.