Acid-Promoted Depolymerization of Poly(hydroxyurethane)s to Five-Membered Cyclic Carbonates Toward Chemical Recycling.

This study reports on the depolymerization of poly(hydroxyurethane)s prepared from five-membered cyclic carbonates and amines. Based on the model reaction of hydroxyurethanes with low molecular weight, this study examines the decomposition behavior and reveals that the trifluoroacetic acid promotes the transformation into a five-membered cyclic carbonate in good yield. Under the optimized conditions, the linear and networked poly(hydroxyurethane)s depolymerizes to afford the corresponding five-membered cyclic carbonate monomers.