UC San Diego

Polyurethanes are versatile organic materials that have transformed modern-day life.Made from polyols and diisocyanates, their versatility is largely determined by the combination of monomers used. In foams, the polyols can be sourced from renewable feedstocks and are diverse in their structures and properties, however, the dominating process for aromatic diisocyanates from fossil fuels has limited the monomers used in polyurethane materials. As society depletes the petroleum resources on this planet, there is an incentive to expand to renewable sources that can further diversify the aryl diisocyanates used in polyurethane products. Herein, I take inspiration from naturally abundant phenolic compounds to expand the scope of starting materials to access novel aromatic diisocyanates. I explore established synthetic methodologies to prepare the aniline precursor to access novel monomer, 3,5- diisocyanto-1,1’-biphenyl.