Luc Avérous

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• Full Professor
• Group Leader at University of Strasbourg

Novel biobased NonIsocyanate PolyUrethanes (NIPU) were synthesized from dimer-based diamines and sebacic biscyclocarbonate in bulk, and without catalyst. All synthesized NIPU present biobased contents around 80 %. Biscyclocarbonates and final NIPU were characterized by FTIR and NMR spectroscopy. A specific study was conducted to determine the best...

Environmental concerns continuously drive research to find alternatives to fossil-based constituents in a greener way. Industrial polyurethane foams are usually obtained from the polyaddition reaction between fossil-based polyols and polymeric 4,4’-methylene bis(phenyl isocyanate). The very recent development at the industrial scale of microalgae p...

The potential of cyclic carbonates for the functionalization of lignins and condensed tannins was studied in detail. Four different cyclic carbonates, ethylene, propylene, vinyl ethylene and glycerol carbonates, were evaluated. Full conversion of the phenolic hydroxyl groups is observed within very short reaction times (less than 2 h and as low as...

This study aimed to fabricate and evaluate TPU/polylactic acid foams loaded with natural extracts of Curcuma longa L. (C) and Hypericum perforatum (H) for WD application. In the frame of the structure/properties relationships study, different and complementary analyzes for WD materials, such as water contact angles measurements, water vapor transmi...

Lignins are the main source of renewable aromatic compounds on Earth. These polyphenols of high functionality are biobased building blocks of great interest for the development of performing aromatic polymer...

Polyurethanes (PUs) are nowadays essential for a large range of key applications, thanks to their exceptional and adaptable properties offered by a wide variety of macromolecular architectures. However, conventional PUs...

Escalating environmental concerns driven by continuous demand for fossil-based materials have sparked a growing interest in designing biobased polymeric materials for high-added-value applications. A novel series of self-blowing polycarbonate foams...

Combining biotechnology and chemistry strategies seems to be one of the main drivers to develop innovative and sustainable macromolecular architectures for the next decades, starting from renewable carbon sources, such as biomass and plastic wastes. Herein, microbially produced biobased precursors, namely esterified 3-(3-hydrox-yalkanoyloxy)alkanoa...

Lignin is an abundant biobased feedstock, representing the first source of renewable aromatic structures. Thanks to its high functionality in aliphatic hydroxyls (Al−OH), phenolic hydroxyls (Ph−OH) and carboxylic acids (COOH), lignin is an attractive precursor to crosslinked polymer materials. Different biobased macromolecular architectures can be...

Lignin is a widely available second‐generation biopolymer and the main potential source of renewable aromatic building blocks. Lignin‐based polyamines offer great potential in applications based on chemical and materials sciences. However, common aminations techniques for lignin usually involve toxic chemicals and generate hindered and low reactivi...

To develop tailored and performing biodegradable multilayer systems with polyester as cap layers and thermoplastic starch (TPS)/polyester blends in the core, several TPS-based blends, with varying formulations and several biodegradable and potentially biobased polyesters, were first elaborated. Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), poly(b...

Lignin is a widely available second‐generation biopolymer and the main potential source of renewable aromatic building blocks. Lignin‐based polyamines offer great potential in applications based on chemical and materials sciences. However, common aminations techniques for lignin usually involve toxic chemicals and generate hindered and low reactivi...

Antioxidants are essential to the polymer industry. The addition of antioxidants delays oxidation and material degradation during their processing and usage. Sustainable phenolic acids such as 4-hydroxybenzoic acid or 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid were selected. They were chemically modified by esterification to obtain various durable molecules, which...

La présente invention concerne un procédé de fabrication d'un mélange de polyphénols alcoxylés qui peut être utilisé directement pour fabriquer différents matériaux en polyuréthane, en particulier des mousses polyuréthane.

Kraft lignin (KL), an abundant and underutilized biobased aromatic resource, was valorized into polyester vitrimers showing enhanced recyclability. KL was first modified with ethylene carbonate, to expose only highly reactive...

The continuous development of new wound dressing materials is necessary in order to achieve the best skin tissue regeneration properties. In this research, renewable foams, based on thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) blended with polylactic acid (PLA), with and without 5 wt.% zinc oxide (ZnO) nanofiller were fabricated, and their biocompatibility wit...

Antioxidants are essential to the polymer industry. The addition of antioxidants delays oxidation and materials degradation during their processing and usage. Sustainable phenolic acids such as 4-hydroxybenzoic acid or 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid have been selected. They have been chemically modified by esterification to obtain various durable molecu...

Plasticizers are essential to the polymer industry to (i) facilitate the processing and (ii) modify the mechanical and thermal performance of polymer materials. The need to reduce the environmental impact and toxicity of plasticizers means that viable alternatives to phthalates must be found. This has become a major current challenge. Bacterial pol...

During the two last decades, covalent adaptable networks (CANs) have proven to be an important new class of polymer materials combining the main advantages of thermoplastics and thermosets. For instance, materials can undergo reprocessing cycles by incorporating dynamic covalent bonds within a cross‐linked network. Due to their versatility, renewab...

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biological polyesters, viewed as a replacement for petrochemical plastic. However, they suffer from suboptimal physical and mechanical properties. Here, it was shown that a metabolically versatile Pseudomonas umsongensis GO16 can synthesise a blend of short chain length (scl) and medium chain length (mcl)-PHA. A def...

Polyurethanes (PUs) are one of the most widely employed classes of polymers, with a continuously increasing production demand that is expected to reach around 21 million tons in 2022. Due to the simple polymerization process by which they are produced, the versatility in PU chemistry, and the strong inter/intramolecular interactions present between...

An original segmented thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) has been synthesized with a biobased aromatic chain extender prepared from caffeic acid (EC-diol). Some reference TPUs were also synthesized with aliphatic or aromatic...

Polyurethanes (PUs) are a versatile and major polymer family, mainly produced via polyaddition between polyols and polyisocyanates. A large variety of fossil-based building blocks is commonly used to develop a wide range of macromolecular architectures with specific properties. Due to environmental concerns, legislation, rarefaction of some petrol...

Tissue adhesives provide an alternative method for painless wound closure compared to sutures and clips. However, the ideal tissue adhesive does not exist yet. Biocompatibility, short curing time, limited exothermic reaction and tailored properties to the final tissue are for instance key criteria to answer. In this study, biobased two-component po...

https://www.icom-cc-publications-online.org/4624/Further-Studies-on-Bio-Based-Polymers-as-Consolidants-for-Waterlogged-Archaeological-Wood-and-Non-Wood-Organics

Three novel polyaspartate derivatives with antibacterial properties and low hemolytic effects are synthesized by the reaction of sodium polyaspartate (PAspNa) with different quaternary ammonium salts with a carboxylic end‐group, subsequently these are tested in vitro against different cancer and normal cell lines. 1‐(carboxypentyl) pyridinium bromi...

The world has been facing a major resource crisis in the last few decades. In order to tackle such environmental issues, new solutions have to be found in order to replace fossil resources by more sustainable, biobased resources. One of the most promising biobased resources are vegetable oils, which are used as building blocks for renewable polymer...

A new method for the synthesis of lignin-based liquid polyols was developed. Organosolv lignin was reacted with ethylene carbonate in polyethylene glycol as solvent, leading to a full conversion of the phenolic OH into primary aliphatic OH groups. These aromatic polyols are obtained in a single step, without any purification. Upon modification of t...

Caffeic acid was esterified and then successfully converted with ethylene carbonate into a new potentially fully bio-based aromatic diol containing a pendant α,β-unsaturated ester. The lipase B from Candida antarctica allowed the synthesis of polyesters from this caffeic-based diol and diethyl adipate. 1,6-Hexanediol was also used as a second diol...

Three novel starch derivatives with antibacterial properties are synthesized through a rather simple multistep synthesis route. In a first step, sodium periodate oxidation of the hydroxyl groups (C2 – C3) of starch yields a di‐aldehyde structure, which is used to attach N, N‐dimethylbenzylamine by Schiff base formation. Then, the amino groups of am...

The removal of water from archaeological wooden objects for display or storage is of great importance to their long-term conservation. Any mechanical instability caused during drying can induce warping or cracking of the wood cells, leading to irreparable damage of the object. Drying of an object is commonly carried out in one of three ways: (i) ai...

In the last decades, Covalent Adaptable Networks (CAN) appeared as an innovative polymer family, able to bridge the gap between thermoplastics and thermosets. CAN rely on the use of dynamic covalent chemistry applied to crosslinked polymer networks. In CAN, the covalent linkages that constitute the network are dynamic and can be reshuffled within t...

The solubility of technical lignins is a complex issue that depends on many parameters, such as the lignin structure governed by the botanical origin and the extraction process. Only polar...

During the last decades, thermoplastic packaging market has rapidly grown thanks to the rapid increase of global consumption, globalization and the unbeatable compromise between properties and large availability of relatively cheap commodity polymers. Recent awareness of the urgency of dealing with environmental concerns has stimulated the R&D on g...

Organic–inorganic xerogel networks were synthesized from bacterial poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) for potential biomedical applications. Since silane-based networks usually demonstrate increased biocompatibility and mechanical properties, siloxane groups have been added onto polyurethane (PU) architectures. In this work, a diol oligomer (oligoPHB-d...

This article introduces the EU Horizon 2020 research project MIX-UP, "Mixed plastics biodegradation and upcycling using microbial communities". The project focuses on changing the traditional linear value chain of plastics to a sustainable, biodegradable based one. Plastic mixtures contain five of the top six fossil-based recalcitrant plastics [pol...

Polyurethanes (PU) have recently emerged as promising biomaterials for tissue adhesive applications. Compared to other tissue adhesives, they offer substantial advantages such as the possibility to tailor adhesive strengths and curing times, for instance. All these properties are directly affected by the composition and final architecture. In this...

The barrier performances, in terms of water vapor sorption properties, gas and water barrier performances were analyzed on different starch-based nano-biocomposites. These multiphase systems were elaborated by melt blending starch and halloysite nanotubes at different contents with different plasticizers (glycerol, sorbitol and a mix of both polyol...

Enzymatic synthesis of aromatic biobased polyesters is a recent and rapidly expanding research field. However, the direct lipase-catalyzed synthesis of polyesters from ferulic acid has not yet been reported. In this work, various ferulic-based monomers were considered for their capability to undergo CALB-catalyzed polymerization. After conversion i...

Enzymatic polymerization is a promising route for a greener synthesis of biobased polyesters. However, this approach is still often limited to aliphatic polyesters, which present limited properties such as low thermal resistance. In this context and till now, introduction of aromatic monomers into polyesters very often resulted in low molar mass ch...

The global market for polyols was US$26.2 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow up to US$34.4 billion by 2024. Polyols are most commonly employed as the main component in the synthesis of polyurethanes, which is the sixth most important polymer family produced with a global production that reached around 22 Mt in 2019. In the interest of improvin...

Development of green, efficient and profitable recycling processes for plastic material will contribute to reduce the expanding plastic pollution and microplastics accumulation in the environment. Polyurethanes (PU) are versatile polymers with a large range of chemical compositions and structures. This variability increases the complexity of PU was...

Over 359 million tons of plastics were produced worldwide in 2018, with significant growth expected in the near future, resulting in the global challenge of end-of-life management. The recent identification of enzymes that degrade plastics previously considered non-biodegradable opens up opportunities to steer the plastic recycling industry into th...

As we live in a time of heightening environmental issues, materials science is required to prepare sustainable polymers through green chemistry ideals. Vegetable oils and their fatty acid derivatives are well regarded for their use in polymer chemistry. Click chemistry has drastically affected the synthesis of vegetable oil-derived polymers over th...

This article introduces the EU Horizon 2020 research project MIX-UP, “Mixed plastics biodegradation and upcycling using microbial communities”. The project focuses on the ambitious vision to change the traditional linear value chain of plastics to a sustainable, biodegradable based one. In MIX-UP, plastic mixtures containing five of the top six fos...

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a biodegradable and biobased family of bacterial polyesters with different architectures. Among them, the poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is one of the most conventional and easily obtained by biotechnologies from different bioresources. However, this thermoplastic polyester known since more than 50 years presents unti...

Restricted self-recovery that pursues a bone injury and the need of inexpensive and painless clinical treatments for tissue regeneration require new pathways developments to fabricate biocompatible and biodegradable scaffolding materials. For these requirements, covalent crosslinked alginate and alginate/Mg-doped hydroxyapatite (MgHAp) hydrogels ar...

The polyurethanes (PU) are a very versatile family of materials mainly obtained by combinations of polyols and polyisocyanates. Based on their annual worldwide production of around 20 million tons and a global market of $50 billion (2016), PUs rank 6th among all polymers. Through their value chain, PUs involve different players: (i) the chemists pr...

Polyurethanes (PUs) are highly resistant materials used for building insulation or automotive seats. The polyurethane end‐of‐life issue must be addressed by the development of efficient recycling techniques. Since conventional recycling processes are not suitable for thermosets, waste management of PU foam is particularly questioning. By coupling b...

The overall purpose of this study was to synthesize biobased polyols to replace conventional fossil-based polyols in polyurethane foams (PUF) in a multistep approach based on green chemistry, in order to bring both improved properties and sustainability. Oleochemistry has been largely used for PUFs elaboration, but for as far as we know the use of...

For decades, polyurethanes (PUR) have mainly been synthesized for long-term applications and are therefore highly persistent in the environment. Proper waste disposal approaches, including recycling techniques, must be developed to limit the accumulation of PUR in the environment. Evaluation of enzymatic polyurethane degradation is needed for the d...

Acteurs d'un développement durable et porteurs de nombreuses innovations récentes, les polymères biosourcés sont le domaine des matériaux polymères qui a l'une des plus fortes dynamiques, avec des croissances s'écrivant à deux chiffres. Ce domaine qui s'inscrit dans des attentes sociétales et environnementales est présenté ici par le biais de nombr...

A booming global population and the environmental impact of concrete and steel has forced construction engineers to expand their horizons in the search for new materials for sustainable housing. A promising solution is the use of fast-growing native woods for the construction of housing and shelter, particularly in developing countries and to quick...

Polyurethane foams (PUF) are generally obtained by polyaddition between polyisocyanate and polyols. In this context, biobased polyols can be obtained by oleochemistry, modifying triglycerides by epoxidation and epoxide ring-opening with...

Nanocomposites of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) with cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) without and with surface treatment are obtained by melt processing. Nanocomposites are obtained with nanofiller weight content near of the theoretical percolation threshold (3.9 wt%). Visual observation of CNC agglomerates is sufficient to prove the inefficiency of...

Nowadays, the use of renewable biobased carbon feedstock is highly taken into consideration because it offers the intrinsic value of a reduced carbon footprint with an improved life cycle analysis (LCA), in agreement with sustainable development. [...]

Two organosolv lignins extracted during pilot runs of the Fabiola process were analyzed, fractionated and chemically modified with ethylene carbonate (EC) to produce building blocks suitable for polymer synthesis. Isolation of low dispersity fractions relied on the partial solubility of the lignins in organic solvents. Lignins solubility was first...

Polyurethanes (PUs) are a major family of polymers displaying a wide spectrum of physico-chemical, mechanical and structural properties for a large range of fields. They have shown suitable for biomedical applications and are used in this domain since decades. The current variety of biomass available has extended the diversity of starting materials...

Distinct bismaleimides (BMIs) of differing molar masses and chemical architectures were studied as cross-linkers of different polyurethane (PUs) backbones containing pendant furan rings to form responsive biobased networks via the Diels-Alder (DA) reaction. The pendant furan rings were introduced during PU synthesis by the inclusion of a specific d...

Permanently crosslinked polymer networks, such as fully cured thermosets derived from fossil-based epoxies, cannot be reuse after damage and/or recycled since they cannot be reprocessed by heating or solubilization as non-crosslinked thermoplastics. As a result, they are not really sustainable materials, generating non-renewable resources consumpti...

The incorporation of halloysite clay nanotubes (HNTs) into thermoplastic starch/poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (TPS/PBAT) blends has been investigated with the aim of improving the compatibility and properties of the matrix. TPS/PBAT/HNTs nano-biocomposites with different TPS/PBAT weight fractions and HNTs contents were elaborated using a...

Two novel polysuccinimide (PSI) derivatives with antibacterial properties were synthesized by the reaction of polysuccinimide with different quaternary ammonium salts with an active terminal group. 4-bromobutyl-quinolinium bromide and 4-bromobutyl-benzalkonium bromide were synthesized from a quaternization reaction between 1,4-dibromobutane and a t...

Over 359 million tons of plastics were produced worldwide in 2018, with significant growth expected in the near future, resulting in the global challenge of end-of-life management. The recent identification of enzymes that degrade plastics previously considered non-biodegradable opens up opportunities to steer the plastic recycling industry into th...

The methylation of lignin is a key reaction for many different purposes, such as increasing the thermal stability and controlling lignin functionality for polymer applications, and increasing the yield of aromatic hydrocarbons during lignin pyrolysis. Methylation most often requires the use of toxic reagents, such as dimethyl sulfate. We developed...

The bioproduction of high‐value chemicals such as itaconic and fumaric acids (IA and FA, respectively) from renewable resources via solid‐state fermentation (SSF) represents an alternative to the current bioprocesses of submerged fermentation using refined sugars. Both acids are excellent platform chemicals with a wide range of applications in diff...

The methylation of lignin is a key reaction for many different purposes, such as increasing the thermal stability and controlling lignin functionality for polymer applications, and increasing the yield of aromatic hydrocarbons during lignin pyrolysis. Methylation most often requires the use of toxic reagents, such as dimethyl sulfate. We developed...

Nowadays, polyols are basic chemicals for the synthesis of a large range of polymers, such as polyurethane foams (PUF), which are produced with several other compounds, such as polyisocyanates. During the last decades, the oleo-chemistry has developed several routes from glycerides to polyols for the polyurethanes (PU) industry to replace mainly co...

Polyurethanes (PU) are a family of versatile synthetic polymers intended for diverse applications. Biological degradation of PU is a blooming research domain as it contributes to the design of eco-friendly materials sensitive to biodegradation phenomena and the development of green recycling processes. In this field, an increasing number of studies...