Syntheses of high performance polyesters with intrinsic properties such as excellent thermal stability and mechanical strength are described by T. Endo et al. in this mini-review. They demonstrate the synthesis of 1:1 alternating copolymers using 3,4-dihydro-coumarin (DHCM) as a co-monomer. DHCM is a cyclic six-membered aromatic lactone that will not undergo anionic homopolymerization, however, it was found to copolymerize with epoxide using an imidazole-type initiator. Theserncopolymers feature the aromatic rings from the DHCM, which confer greater thermal stability and adhesion strength than their aliphatic analogues. Further development of DHCM derivatives and applications could provide novel solutions to the challenges facing current epoxy curing systems.
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