Le vendredi 1^er juillet 2022,  Charlène Gabriela NGASSAM TOUNZOUA présentera l'examen en vue de l’obtention du grade académique de Docteur en Sciences (Collège de doctorat en Chimie) sous la direction de Christophe DETREMBLEUR.

Cette épreuve consistera en la défense publique d’une dissertation intitulée :

« Cascade approaches towards functional CO2-sourced cyclic carbonates and polycarbonates ».

Abstract

Polycarbonates (PCs) belong to some of the world-leading polymers that are widely used in aircraft or automotive applications (windows, etc.), in safety equipment (helmets, bullet proof glass, etc.)… However, their industrial production requires the use of toxic compounds such as phosgene, high temperatures, and is not compatible with the introduction of some functional groups along the polymer backbone. Making plastics more sustainable by valorising CO₂ as a cheap, inexhaustible and renewable feedstock imposes itself as a strategic driver for developing low carbon footprint materials. The goal of this thesis work was to investigate the fundamentals to permit the synthesis of new PCs ((poly(oxo-carbonate)s) in a cascade one-pot process, wherein bis(α-alkylidene cyclic carbonate)s (bisαCCs) monomers are produced in-situ from the coupling of CO₂ and bis(propargylic alcohol)s,  and then directly involved in a step-growth polymerisation with a diol.

Le Jury sera composé de :

M. J.-C. MONBALIU (Président), Mme et MM. C. APRILE (UNamur), O. COULEMBIER (UMons), C. DETREMBLEUR (Promoteur), B. GRIGNARD (Secrétaire), T. SCHAUB (BASF, Allemagne).