## 2 Applications in Chemistry
### Alkene Polymerization  
The synthesis of different monomers with at least two reactive groups for further polymerization is an attractive approach, especially from the point of view of the polymer industry. While one of the reactive groups can be used for copolymerization, the other one can be set aside for further transformations, namely for crosslinking [106]. In this sense, the presence of an unsaturated site on the monomer facilitates subsequent polymerization. On the other hand, the presence of a cyclic carbonate moiety as a second reactive site results in polymers with low reactivity, which allows better control of crosslinking compared with isocyanate or epoxide functions, for example. It is worth noting that the reactions on the double bond of the monomer, which can keep the cyclic carbonate unit intact, are critical for later functionalization of these monomers [19]. In this sense, [PERSON] and co-workers [107] described the efficient synthesis of glycerol-based co-oligomers functionalized with alcohol, cyclocarbonate, or acetal pendant groups. The process involves free radical chain transfer polymerization using 2-mercaptoethanol(ME) as the chain transfer agent and glycerol-derived acrylate monomers. Initially, GC **1a** was reacted with acryloyl chloride **69** in the presence of Et3N to provide glycerol carbonate acrylate (GCA) **1k** with 80% yield (Scheme 41). The free radical telomerication of GCA to oligoGCAs was performed in the presence of AIBN and ME at 80 \({}^{\circ}\)C. During the telomerication process, the decomposition of AIBN causes the formation of a thiyl radical from ME, which further reacts with a monomer unit to form radical species, resulting in the product carrying a hydroxyl head group. A similar procedure was conducted using solketal instead of GC. Those materials did not exhibit branching or gelation and weretotally soluble in the tested solvents. Additionally, the carbonate ring or acetal protective groups on oligomers can be selectively removed under basic or acidic conditions. Seeking to obtain amphiphilic polymers, [PERSON] and co-workers [108] have prepared thiol monomers **71** by the esterification of oleic and lauric acids with 2-mercaptoethanol. These intermediates were employed in AIBN-induced free-radical polymerization with glycerin carbonate acrylate (GCA) **1k** in acetonitrile solution at 80 \({}^{\circ}\)C. In this telomeric process, two oleate polymers **72** were obtained with 65% (for n = 27) and 73% (for n = 65) yield, together with one laurate polymer with 62% yield (for n = 24), as shown in Scheme 42. The fatty acid fragment is responsible for the hydrophobic character of the polymer; in order to prepare amphiphilic derivatives **73** from telomers **72**, the base-catalyzed hydrolysis of the cyclic carbonate unit was used to unmask hydroxyl groups. In aqueous media, the hydrolyzed polymers **73** were able to form aggregates with different numbers of micellar units, with critical micellization concentrations in the range of 10 to 60 mg\(\cdot\)L\({}^{-1}\). These values increase with the length of the hydrophilic moiety and decrease with the growth of the hydrophobic moiety length and the presence of double bonds, which leads to control of the diameter of the micelles. In order to obtain fluorinated terpolymers **74** and copolymers **75**, [PERSON] and co-workers [109] reacted glycerol carbonate vinyl ether **1l** with either chlorotrifluoroethylene **76** and vinyl ether **77** or with **76** alone, respectively, in the presence of _tert_-butylperoxylate (TBPPi) in 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluorobutane at 74 \({}^{\circ}\)C in an autoclave, in the presence of 3 mol% of potassium carbonate (Scheme 43). The combined presence of fluorine atoms and the GC unit in a polymer led to several possibilities for posterior functionalization.