Polymer Performance Materials Group, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2022 Oct 24;61(43):e202211806. doi: 10.1002/anie.202211806. Epub 2022 Sep 29.
Closed-loop recycling of polymers represents the key technology to convert plastic waste in a sustainable fashion. Efficient chemical recycling and upcycling strategies are thus highly sought-after to establish a circular plastic economy. Here, we present the selective chemical depolymerization of polycarbonate by employing a vanillin derivative as bio-based feedstock. The resulting di-vanillin carbonate monomer was used in combination with various amines to construct a library of reprocessable poly(imine-carbonate)s, which show tailor-made thermal and mechanical properties. These novel poly(imine-carbonate)s exhibit excellent recyclability under acidic and energy-efficient conditions. This allows the recovery of monomers in high yields and purity for immediate reuse, even when mixed with various commodity plastics. This work provides exciting new insights in the design of bio-based circular polymers produced by upcycling of plastic waste with minimal environmental impact.
聚合物的闭环回收代表了将塑料废物以可持续方式转化的关键技术。因此，高效的化学回收和升级回收策略是建立循环塑料经济的迫切需求。在这里，我们采用香草醛衍生物作为生物基原料，对聚碳酸酯进行选择性化学解聚。所得的二香草醛碳酸酯单体与各种胺结合，构建了可再加工的聚（亚胺碳酸酯）库，其具有定制的热和机械性能。这些新型聚（亚胺碳酸酯）在酸性和节能条件下具有优异的可回收性。即使与各种商品塑料混合，也可以以高收率和高纯度回收单体，以便立即重复使用。这项工作为通过以最小的环境影响对塑料废物进行升级回收来设计生物基循环聚合物提供了令人兴奋的新见解。
