In
this study we describe the synthesis of bis(pyrrolidone) based
dicarboxylic acids from itaconic acid and their application in 2-oxazoline
resins for fully renewable thermoset materials. The monomers are obtained
using a bulk aza-Michael addition of a diamine and two itaconic acid
molecules using a catalytic amount of water. The monomers can be isolated
in high purity after recrystallization, though their yield proved
to be highly dependent on the selected diamine spacer length: In general,
only the dicarboxylic acids containing diamines with an even number
of methylene spacers are isolated in high yields. Through NMR, GPC,
and FTIR analysis we demonstrate that these bis(pyrrolidone) based
dicarboxylic acids exhibit significantly enhanced curing rates in
2-oxazoline resins compared to resins containing aliphatic dicarboxylic
acids such as sebacic acid. Overall, we demonstrate that the rate
of 2-oxazoline ring-opening addition with carboxylic acid functionalities
is determined by the used dicarboxylic acid, whereas the ring-opening
addition of the 2-oxazoline functionality with amide groups is determined
by the used bis(2-oxazoline) compound. The thermosets obtained after
curing proved to be readily plasticized by water, opening up possibilities
for enzymatic degradation.