A 35-page review by Illy et al. summarises current fundamental and applied research into synthesis of phosphorus containing bio-molecules (phosphorylation). Phosphorus containing polymers offer valuable properties including PIN fire safety characteristics, chelating and metal adhesion. The use of bio-based polymers can reduce environmental impacts by using renewable carbon and offering good biodegradability.
The review looks at the different families of bio-based chemicals which can be phosphorylated: polysaccharides (e.g. cellulose, chitosan …), biophenols (e.g. lignin), triglycerides (e.g. plant oils, DOPO, cardenol from cashew nuts …), hydroxy acids (e.g. poly lactic acid PLA) and at the different chemical routes for adding phosphorus functionalities to these bio-molecules. The authors note that phosphorylation can be achieved using bio-catalytic methods at low temperatures / low input energy, using enzymes, to enable low toxicity, environmentally preferable synthesis processes.
“Phosphorylation of bio-based compounds: the state of the art”, Polymer Chemistry (Royal Society of Chemistry) 2015, N. Illy et al. http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2015/py/c5py00812c#!divAbstract