Synthesis of Phenyl-Substituted Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrates) with High and Tunable Glass Transition Temperatures via Sequential Catalytic Transformations Atactic polystyrene is a commonplace transparent thermoplastic with a high glass transition temperature (Tg ∼ 100 °C), but its nondegradable backbone leads to detrimental environmental accumulation. Poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (PHAs) have emerged as biodegradable polyester alternatives to conventional olefinic plastics, but only a few PHAs possess the high Tg values (>100 °C) characteristic of polystyrene. Herein, we report the synthesis of phenyl-substituted poly(3-hydroxybutyrates) (PhPHBs) via sequential catalytic carbonylation and zinc-mediated ring-opening polymerization (ROP). Both cis and trans isomers of α-phenyl-β-butyrolactone (α-Ph-β-BL) were synthesized and polymerized to provide 13 distinct PhPHBs of varying trans incorporation and their resulting properties were systematically studied. The PhPHBs exhibit high and tunable Tg values (104–128 °C) and high thermal stability. We anticipate this work will inform the design of future high Tg PHAs as degradable alternatives to polystyrene.

Check out our latest work in @jacs.acspublications.org! Congratulations Sarah, Lexi, Luis, Morgan, and Anne 👏🎊 pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Happy holidays from the Coates Crew! 🎅🎁

Happy labs-giving! 🦃🍗🍁

Welcome Kendra Johnson to the Coates Group!

The Franklin Institute Awards Class of 2026

Congratulations to @geoffreywcoates.bsky.social , who was announced as a laureate of The Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry! We’re thrilled to celebrate this remarkable achievement 🥳👏🎉 fi.edu/en/awards/fr...

2025 POLY General Topics Award Email from Division of Polymer Chemistry Outstanding Presentations     POLY General Topics Award Outstanding Presentations The POLY Outstanding General Topics Presentation Award was established to rec

Congratulations to Julia Borowski, our palladium peer, who recently received The POLY General Topics Award for her outstanding presentation at the ACS National Meeting! Read about her presentation here: myemail.constantcontact.com/2025-POLY-Ge...

I scream, you scream, for Coates group ice cream! 🍦

Main-Chain Ketone Installation in Polyethylene Chains: A Metal-Free Strategy toward Photodegradable Plastics Polyethylene with in-chain isolated ketones is an attractive target for achieving photodegradability while maintaining polyolefin material properties. This work reports a method to functionalize post-...

Check out our latest work in @jacs.acspublications.org 🎉 pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

We had some visitors in lab today! 🐈‍⬛

Happy birthday Kelly! 🥳🎂🎈The Coates Crew MVP 🏆 We are so grateful for everything you do!

ACS announces 2026 national award winners The winners are being acknowledged for their outstanding achievements in chemistry across various fields in the discipline

🎉 Congratulations to Geoff on receiving the ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry, sponsored by Procter & Gamble! 🧪👏 This honor recognizes groundbreaking contributions to advancing polymer science and inspiring innovation in the field.
cen.acs.org/people/award...

Our ama-zinc visiting student Yolanda Rusconi is flying back to Italy this weekend 💔 You were such a joy to have in the lab, we will miss you TONS! 🇮🇹☀️🏖️

It’s a bittersweet day because we have to say goodbye to our olefin-tastic Dr. Moritz Kränzlein 💔 good luck Moritz, we will miss you! 🦝🍬

The crew found our inner zen today at group yoga 🧘‍♀️ Namaste!

Efficient Kinetic-Resolution Copolymerization of Epoxides and CO2 Achieved via Computation-Guided Catalyst Design The enantioselective resolution copolymerization of racemic terminal epoxides and CO2 is a powerful strategy for preparing isotactic polycarbonates. However, no catalytic system to date has enabled bo...

Check out this compu-tastic work spearheaded by Bai-Hao Ren and Xiao-Bing Lu now in ‪‪@jacs.acspublications.org ‬! pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Congratulations to Dr. Sarah Severson, who defended her PhD on Friday! We will miss this PHA-nomenal chemist 🎓 Go Sarah go!

Congratulations to Dr. Jackie Lopez Lopez, who just passed her B exam! What would the Coates Group be without our polyethylene expert? 🐢🥒 we will miss you Jackie! ❤️

Lexi Fresh joined the “PhD candidate” gang today! Congratulations Lexi 🥳 👠🍾 and congratulations to all of our second years!

Congratulations to Pengfei Zhang, who became a PhD candidate today! He also became a champagne-opening master 🍾🥂 We are so proud of you Pengfei!

Happy ANNEiversary to the Coates’ group MVP 🏆 Dr. Anne LaPointe joined the Coates group 15 years ago today! We love you Anne ❤️🐈🐈‍⬛

Join us in celebrating Alex Macbeth, who successfully defended her thesis today! Our resident conductivity queen👑📣. Congratulations Dr. Macbeth, we will miss you!

Congratulations to our newest Ph.D. Candidate Ethan Flanagan! This king of polynorbornene successfully passed his A exam yesterday. Go Ethan!