Laboratory of Polymers and Composites, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, 315201, P. R. China.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, P. R. China.
Mater Horiz. 2023 Jan 3;10(1):41-51. doi: 10.1039/d2mh01128j.
Thermosetting polymers, a large class of polymers featuring excellent properties, have been widely used and play an irreplaceable role in our life. Nevertheless, they are arduous to be recycled or reused on account of their permanently cross-linked networks, and the main recycling approaches used currently include energy recovery through incineration, utilization as fillers after mechanical grinding, and pyrolysis, which only reclaim a small fraction or partial value of thermosetting polymers and their downstream materials. In this minireview, we provide an overview of the efforts undertaken towards upcycling thermosetting polymers in recent years. The research progress on physical upcycling, carbonization, solvolysis and vitrimerization of thermoset waste to high-value materials, including oil-water separation materials, 3D printable materials, functional carbon materials (supercapacitors, photothermal conversion materials, and catalytic materials), additives, emulsifiers, biolubricants, and vitrimers, are summarized and discussed. Perspectives on the future development of the art of upcycling thermosets are also provided.
热固性聚合物是一大类具有优异性能的聚合物，在我们的生活中有着广泛的应用，发挥着不可替代的作用。然而，由于其永久交联的网络结构，它们难以回收或再利用，目前主要的回收方法包括焚烧进行能量回收、机械研磨后用作填料的利用以及热解，这些方法仅回收了热固性聚合物及其下游材料的一小部分或部分价值。在这篇小综述中，我们概述了近年来在热固性聚合物升级回收方面所做的努力。对热固性废料通过物理升级回收、碳化、溶剂解和热固性键交换反应转化为高价值材料的研究进展进行了总结和讨论，包括油水分离材料、3D 可打印材料、功能碳材料（超级电容器、光热转换材料和催化材料）、添加剂、乳化剂、生物润滑剂和热固性键交换聚合物。还提供了对热固性聚合物升级回收艺术未来发展的展望。
