Cyclic organic carbonates are among the most widely studied targets in the nonreductive conversion of carbon dioxide using oxiranes as the common reaction partners. Apart from using fossil fuel based precursors, recent developments have shown that biomass related feedstock can also serve as coupling partner for CO₂ allowing the preparation of more functional and complex types of carbonate architectures. This tutorial review places this latter development in the current context of new and more sustainable material designs, and highlights the main types of biomass that have been examined using primarily homogeneous catalysis approaches.

Our dependence on fossil-fuel based raw materials and alarming plastics accumulation in the environment has inspired many scientists to design and implement more sustainable approaches for polymer synthesis. The identification and assessment of new and renewable biobased monomers has become a major topic of interest en route to a circular economy. In this respect, terpenes and terpenoid scaffolds have attracted much attention due to their ubiquitous nature and high functionality. This minireview uncovers recent advancements in the synthesis of terpene-based polymers, and specifically discusses the formation of terpene-derived polycarbonates, polyesters, polyurethanes and polyamides. The potential of these polymers in post-synthetic curing and modifications is also highlighted to illustrate the opportunities that exist to develop new polymer formulations beyond bench scale.

This perspective provides general mechanistic guidelines for the catalytic formation of cyclic organic carbonates from CO₂ and cyclic ethers.