Fernando Vidal

Dr. Fernando Vidal

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Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

15Years (2012-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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31 January 2024 in Nature
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Journal Article
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FVFernando Vidal
Fernando Vidal
EMEva R. van der Marel
Eva R. van der Marel
RKRyan W. F. Kerr
Ryan W. F. Kerr
CMCaitlin McElroy
Caitlin McElroy
NSNadia Schroeder
Nadia Schroeder
CWCharlotte K. Williams
Charlotte K. Williams

13 November 2018 in Angewandte Chemie International Edition
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Journal Article
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FVFernando Vidal
Fernando Vidal
FJFrieder Jaekle
Frieder Jaekle

18 September 2019 in Journal of the American Chemical Society
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Journal Article
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FVFernando Vidal
Fernando Vidal
JGJohn Gomezcoello
John Gomezcoello
RLRoger Lalancette
Roger Lalancette
FJFrieder Jaekle
Frieder Jaekle

14 March 2024 in Journal of the American Chemical Society
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Journal Article
Open access
GRGloria Rosetto
Gloria Rosetto
FVFernando Vidal
Fernando Vidal
TMThomas M. McGuire
Thomas M. McGuire
RKRyan W. F. Kerr
Ryan W. F. Kerr
CWCharlotte K. Williams
Charlotte K. Williams
Using carbon dioxide (CO2) to make recyclable thermoplastics could reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with polymer manufacturing. CO2/cyclic epoxide ring-opening copolymerization (ROCOP) allows for >30 wt % of the polycarbonate to derive from CO2; so far, the field has largely focused on oligocarbonates. In contrast, efficient catalysts for high molar mass polycarbonates are underinvestigated, and the resulting thermoplastic structure-property relationships, processing, and recycling need to be elucidated. This work describes a new organometallic Mg(II)Co(II) catalyst that combines high productivity, low loading tolerance, and the highest polymerization control to yield polycarbonates with number average molecular weight (Mn) values from 4 to 130 kg mol-1, with narrow, monomodal distributions. It is used in the ROCOP of CO2 with bicyclic epoxides to produce a series of samples, each with Mn > 100 kg mol-1, of poly(cyclohexene carbonate) (PCHC), poly(vinyl-cyclohexene carbonate) (PvCHC), poly(ethyl-cyclohexene carbonate) (PeCHC, by hydrogenation of PvCHC), and poly(cyclopentene carbonate) (PCPC). All these materials are amorphous thermoplastics, with high glass transition temperatures (85 < Tg < 126 °C, by differential scanning calorimetry) and high thermal stability (Td > 260 °C). The cyclic ring substituents mediate the materials' chain entanglements, viscosity, and glass transition temperatures. Specifically, PCPC was found to have 10× lower entanglement molecular weight (Me)n and 100× lower zero-shear viscosity compared to those of PCHC, showing potential as a future thermoplastic. All these high molecular weight polymers are fully recyclable, either by reprocessing or by using the Mg(II)Co(II) catalyst for highly selective depolymerizations to epoxides and CO2. PCPC shows the fastest depolymerization rates, achieving an activity of 2500 h-1 and >99% selectivity for cyclopentene oxide and CO2.

8 July 2015 in Journal of the American Chemical Society
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Journal Article
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FVFernando Vidal
Fernando Vidal
RGRavikumar R. Gowda
Ravikumar R. Gowda
ECEugene Y.-X. Chen
Eugene Y.-X. Chen

5 August 2020 in Journal of the American Chemical Society
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Journal Article
Closed access
FVFernando Vidal
Fernando Vidal
JMJames McQuade
James McQuade
RLRoger Lalancette
Roger Lalancette
FJFrieder Jaekle
Frieder Jaekle