Facile synthesis of formaldehyde-based polyether(-carbonate) polyols

Paraformaldehyde (pFA) was utilized as an abundant building block to synthesize remarkably stable liquid pFA‐poly(alkoxy) and pFA‐poly(alkoxy)(carbonate) triblock polyols by graft oligomerization of epoxides and variable amounts of CO2. The resulting tailor‐made oligo diols are highly interesting precursors. They are partially made from alternative feedstock and are well suited as starting materials for state‐of‐the‐art polyurethane chemistry. Moreover, this study demonstrates the general feasibility of a novel polyether polyol process with a significantly reduced epoxide demand.