Enzymatic synthesis of furan-based polymers

Following concerns dealing with the finite nature of fossil resources and environmental pollution, interest in sustainable polymer alternatives and their production is rising. Enzymatic polymerization represents a promising solution to overcome these problems. The green nature and robustness of this type of polymerization gives rise to a multitude of biobased polymer. Within a large variety of biobased building blocks, furan derivatives and furan chemistry occupy a special position in polymer chemistry. The similarity between furan and phenyl rings opens an opportunity to a biobased alternative for phenyl-based polymers. For instance, polyethylene furanoate (PEF) is one successful example of biobased alternatives to polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is widely used as packaging material. Interestingly, even though many studies reported the use of enzymatic routes in the synthesis of aliphatic polymers, there is a limited amount of reports on enzymatic synthesis of furan polymers. The work described in this thesis is focused on the further development of enzymatic routes for the production of various novel furan polymers with versatile properties. The obtained findings pave the way towards a transition from fossil- to bio-based polymers, as well as more environmentally friendly synthetic routes