Niklas Warlin

All Publications

• Synthesis and chemical recycling investigations of polythioureas REACTIVE & FUNCTIONAL POLYMERS de Menezes, R. L., Gordivska, O., Nguyen, T., Warlin, N., Rehnberg, N., Zhang, B. 2024; 205

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.reactfunctpolym.2024.106062

  View details for Web of Science ID 001334864300001

• Reversibly Crosslinked Polyurethane Fibres from Sugar-Based 5-Chloromethylfurfural: Synthesis, Fibre-Spinning and Fibre-to-Fibre Recycling. ChemSusChem Warlin, N., Gonzalez, M. N., de Menezes, R. N., Karajos, A., Olsson, E., Almqvist, C., Sayed, M., Mankar, S. V., Valsange, N. G., Abdelaziz, O. Y., Hulteberg, C. P., Bäcklund, F. G., Guo, Z., Rehnberg, N., Lundmark, S., Hatti-Kaul, R., Jannasch, P., Zhang, B. 2024: e202402067

  Abstract

  The development of recyclable crosslinked thermosetting fibres is a challenging research topic. In the present work, we have designed and synthesized polyurethane fibres from fructose-derived 5-chloromethylfurfural (CMF) and lignin-derived monomeric phenols. The greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of CMF showed comparable results to that of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a high potential sugar-based platform molecule. The wet-spun biobased polyurethane fibres produced could be conveniently crosslinked using Diels-Alder chemistry to effectively enhance the glass transition temperature and mechanical properties. At a mildly elevated temperature (140 °C), the chemically crosslinked fibres could be effectively de-crosslinked, which enabled complete separation from a mixture with poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and cotton fibres. These results outline a potential strategy to design and fabricate new biobased fibres with reversible crosslinking, which may enable fibre-to-fibre recycling.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/cssc.202402067

  View details for PubMedID 39352793

• Synthesis of Homo- and Copolyesters Using an AB-Type Aromatic Monomer Based on Homovanillic Acid MACROMOLECULES Nguyen, T. T., Olsson, E., Mankar, S., Warlin, N., Valsange, N. G., Engqvist, J., Rehnberg, N., Jannasch, P., Zhang, B. 2024

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.macromol.4c00877

  View details for Web of Science ID 001319882700001

• Highly Selective O-Phenylene Bisurea Catalysts for ROP: Stabilization of Oxyanion Transition State by a Semiflexible Hydrogen Bond Pocket. Journal of the American Chemical Society Zhang, J., Lui, K. H., Zunino, R., Jia, Y., Morodo, R., Warlin, N., Hedrick, J. L., Talarico, G., Waymouth, R. M. 2024

  Abstract

  Organocatalyzed ring-opening polymerization (ROP) is a versatile technique for synthesizing biodegradable polymers, including polyesters and polycarbonates. We introduce o-phenylene bisurea (OPBU) (di)anions as a novel class of organocatalysts that are fast, easily tunable, mildly basic, and exceptionally selective. These catalysts surpass previous generations, such as thiourea, urea, and TBD, in selectivity (kp/ktr) by 8 to 120 times. OPBU catalysts facilitate the ROP of various monomers, achieving high conversions (>95%) in seconds to minutes, producing polymers with precise molecular weights and very low dispersities (Đ ≈ 1.01). This performance nearly matches the ideal distribution expected from living polymerization (Poisson distribution). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the catalysts stabilize the oxyanion transition state via a hydrogen bond pocket similar to the "oxyanion hole" in enzymatic catalysis. Both experimental and theoretical analyses highlight the critical role of the semirigid o-phenylene linker in creating a hydrogen bond pocket that is tight yet flexible enough to accommodate the oxyanion transition state effectively. These new insights have provided a new class of organic catalysts whose accessibility, moderate basicity, excellent solubility, and unparalleled selectivity and tunability open up new opportunities for controlled polymer synthesis.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/jacs.4c04740

  View details for PubMedID 39102651

• Recent strides toward transforming lignin into plastics and aqueous electrolytes for flow batteries. iScience Abdelaziz, O. Y., Vives, M. B., Mankar, S. V., Warlin, N., Nguyen, T. T., Zhang, B., Hulteberg, C. P., Khataee, A. 2024; 27 (4): 109418

  Abstract

  Lignin is an abundant polyaromatic polymer with a wide range of potential future uses. However, the conversion of lignin into valuable products comes at a cost, and medium- to high-value applications are thus appropriate. Two examples of these are polymers (e.g., as fibers, plasticizers, or additives) and flow batteries (e.g., as redox species). Both of these areas would benefit from lignin-derived molecules with potentially low molecular weight and high (electro)chemical functionality. A promising route to obtain these molecules is oxidative lignin depolymerization, as it enables the formation of targeted compounds with multiple functionalities. An application with high potential in the production of plastics is the synthesis of new sustainable polymers. Employing organic molecules, such as quinones and heterocycles, would constitute an important step toward the sustainability of aqueous flow batteries, and lignin and its derivatives are emerging as redox species, mainly due to their low cost and renewability.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109418

  View details for PubMedID 38544571

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10966304