"Not only does the new nature-inspired material reduce reliance on crude oil products, but its properties can also be easily controlled to make the material flexible or crystalline," says the press release from the University of Bath. The researchers from the Centre for Sustainable and Circular Technologies report that the polymer, from the polyether family, has a variety of applications which include:- as a building block for polyurethane, used in mattresses and shoe soles; as a bio-derived alternative to polyethylene glycol, a chemical widely used in bio-medicine; or as a bio-derived alternative to polyethylene oxide, sometimes used as electrolyte in batteries. "We're very excited that we've been able to produce this sustainable material from a plentiful natural resource – wood," writes Antoine Buchard, a Royal Society University Research Fellow and Reader at the Centre for Sustainable and Circular Technologies.

The study was published in the prestigious chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition and was funded by the Royal Society and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, which is part of UK Research and Innovation. Congratulations to the researchers!