Synthesis and characterization of a novel bornadiene/carbon monoxide polyketone based on a renewable α-pinene derivative

• A novel polyketone was synthesized from renewable resources.
• Bornadiene/CO polyketone with carbonyl groups and strained ring structures was obtained.
• The BD/CO polyketone was readily soluble in less-polar solvents but showed poor solubility in polar solvents.
• The BD/CO polyketone showed good thermal stability.

Bornadiene (BD), synthesized from renewable α-pinene, was copolymerized with carbon monoxide (CO) to produce a novel polyketone with carbonyl groups and strained ring structures. The bornadiene/carbon monoxide (BD/CO) polyketone is a white solid with molecular weight (Mw) of 19,400 g mol−1 and shows good solubility in less polar organic solvents. FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and elemental analysis confirmed that the BD/CO polyketone contained carbonyl groups and strained ring structures. The thermal analyses showed that the resulting polyketone has excellent thermal stability.