GIFT Associate Professor Yueming Wu Publishes New CO₂-meditated Synthetic Strategy in the Journal of the American Chemical Society

Associate Professor Yueming Wu from the Global Institute of Future Technology (GIFT) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, together with collaborators, has published a paper titled "Closed-loop CO₂-Mediated Ultrafast and Controlled Synthesis of Amino Acid Polymers Toward a Circular Carbon and Polymer Economy" in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS). Yueming Wu is the corresponding author.

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the proof-of-concept for developing a sustainable AA polymer synthetic strategy based on a closed-loop CO2 cycle.

The study reports a novel closed-loop CO₂-mediated synthetic strategy. Using CO2 and renewable amino acids as raw materials, the researchers captured, converted, and recycled CO₂ under mild conditions, producing amino acid (AA) polymers with good mechanical properties and recyclability. This work offers new insights for reducing carbon emissions in polymer manufacturing, advancing CO₂ resource utilization, and developing green polymer materials.

Synthetic polymers are indispensable to modern society. However, their production involves substantial CO₂ emissions, exacerbating global carbon imbalance. While extensive research has attempted to use CO₂ as a carbon source for polymer synthesis, existing CO₂-based polymers mainly depend on fossil-derived feedstocks such as epoxides and olefins, whose production itself generates CO₂ emissions. Moreover, current CO₂ fixation methods rely on harsh conditions such as high pressure, elevated temperature, and transition-metal catalysts. Therefore, a key challenge is constructing highly reactive polymerizable monomers from inert CO2 and amino acids at room temperature and atmospheric pressure.

To address this challenge, Wu and collaborators developed a closed-loop CO₂-mediated synthesis strategy. Using abundant natural amino acids as renewable carbon and nitrogen sources, the researchers directly capture CO₂ at room temperature and atmospheric pressure and convert it into highly reactive intermediates. This enables efficient production of structurally diverse, recyclable AA polymers. Unlike traditional fossil-based polymer manufacturing, this strategy transforms CO₂ from a waste byproduct into a reactive intermediate, achieving effective fixation and reuse of CO₂ during material synthesis. Moreover, AA polymers can be efficiently depolymerized into environmentally friendly amino acids, enabling circular utilization of polymer materials. This strategy is expected to provide a new insight for the development of diverse carbon cycling systems and a broader circular polymer economy.

Figure 2. Structurally diverse functional amino acid polymers

Link to the paper:

https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.6c17448

Author Profile

Yueming Wu is a tenure-track Associate Professor and doctoral supervisor of GIFT. Her research focuses on AI-assisted biomacromolecule design, polymer synthesis, polymeric biomaterials, antimicrobial /antitumor drugs and materials, tissue regeneration, drug delivery, and medical devices (brain-machine interfaces). She has published first-author/corresponding-author papers in leading journals including Sci. Transl. Med., Nat. Protocols, Nat. Commun. (2), JACS (2), Angew. Chem. (2), ACS Central Sci., and Prog. Polym. Sci. She holds one authorized U.S. patent and seven Chinese patents.