UC San Diego

Novel bio polyols made from different combinations of diacids, and diols were tested using potentiometric titrations to determine their hydroxyl number, total acid content and water content. These tests were in part accomplished by designing novel titration methods involving solvent substitutions which were verified to generate results within ±2%. The second half of this thesis focused on the synthesis of a novel polyol made from Botryococcus braunii using hydroboration-oxidation and epoxidation. Potentiometric analysis showed that the hydroboration-oxidation route was 13% more effective and supported by H NMR and FT-IR analysis. Future avenues with biodegradable adhesives could be explored.