1
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Zhou L, Reilly LT, Shi C, Quinn EC, Chen EYX. Proton-triggered topological transformation in superbase-mediated selective polymerization enables access to ultrahigh-molar-mass cyclic polymers. Nat Chem 2024:10.1038/s41557-024-01511-2. [PMID: 38649467 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-024-01511-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
The selective synthesis of ultrahigh-molar-mass (UHMM, >2 million Da) cyclic polymers is challenging as an exceptional degree of spatiotemporal control is required to overcome the possible undesired reactions that can compete with the desired intramolecular cyclization. Here we present a counterintuitive synthetic methodology for cyclic polymers, represented here by polythioesters, which proceeds via superbase-mediated ring-opening polymerization of gem-dimethylated thiopropiolactone, followed by macromolecular cyclization triggered by protic quenching. This proton-triggered linear-to-cyclic topological transformation enables selective, linear polymer-like access to desired cyclic polythioesters, including those with UHMM surpassing 2 MDa. In addition, this method eliminates the need for stringent conditions such as high dilution to prevent or suppress linear polymer contaminants and presents the opposite scenario in which protic-free conditions are required to prevent cyclic polymer formation, which is capitalized to produce cyclic polymers on demand. Furthermore, such UHMM cyclic polythioester exhibits not only much enhanced thermostability and mechanical toughness, but it can also be quantitatively recycled back to monomer under mild conditions due to its gem-disubstitution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Zhou
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Liam T Reilly
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Changxia Shi
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Ethan C Quinn
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Eugene Y-X Chen
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
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2
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Tian JJ, Liu X, Ye L, Zhang Z, Quinn EC, Shi C, Broadbelt LJ, Marks TJ, Chen EYX. Redesigned Nylon 6 Variants with Enhanced Recyclability, Ductility, and Transparency. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202320214. [PMID: 38418405 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202320214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2023] [Revised: 02/17/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/01/2024]
Abstract
Geminal (gem-) disubstitution in heterocyclic monomers is an effective strategy to enhance polymer chemical recyclability by lowering their ceiling temperatures. However, the effects of specific substitution patterns on the monomer's reactivity and the resulting polymer's properties are largely unexplored. Here we show that, by systematically installing gem-dimethyl groups onto ϵ-caprolactam (monomer of nylon 6) from the α to ϵ positions, both the redesigned lactam monomer's reactivity and the resulting gem-nylon 6's properties are highly sensitive to the substitution position, with the monomers ranging from non-polymerizable to polymerizable and the gem-nylon properties ranging from inferior to far superior to the parent nylon 6. Remarkably, the nylon 6 with the gem-dimethyls substituted at the γ position is amorphous and optically transparent, with a higher Tg (by 30 °C), yield stress (by 1.5 MPa), ductility (by 3×), and lower depolymerization temperature (by 60 °C) than conventional nylon 6.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun-Jie Tian
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1872, USA
| | - Xiaoyang Liu
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-3113, USA
| | - Liwei Ye
- Department of Chemistry and the Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-3113, USA
| | - Zhen Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1872, USA
| | - Ethan C Quinn
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1872, USA
| | - Changxia Shi
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1872, USA
| | - Linda J Broadbelt
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-3113, USA
| | - Tobin J Marks
- Department of Chemistry and the Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-3113, USA
| | - Eugene Y-X Chen
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1872, USA
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3
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Wang S, Feng H, Lim JYC, Li K, Li B, Mah JJQ, Xing Z, Zhu J, Loh XJ, Li Z. Recyclable, Malleable, and Strong Thermosets Enabled by Knoevenagel Adducts. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:9920-9927. [PMID: 38557104 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c00043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Plastic recycling is critical for waste management and achieving a circular economy, but it entails difficult trade-offs between performance and recyclability. Here, we report a thermoset, poly(α-cyanocinnamate) (PCC), synthesized using Knoevenagel condensation between terephthalaldehyde (TPA) and a triarm cyanoacetate star, that tackles this difficulty by harnessing its intrinsically conjugated and dynamic chemical characteristics. PCCs exhibit extraordinary thermal and mechanical properties with a typical Tg of ∼178 °C, Young's modulus of 3.8 GPa, and tensile strength of 102 MPa, along with remarkable flexibility and dimensional and chemical stabilities. Furthermore, end-of-life PCCs can be selectively degraded and partially recycled back into one starting monomer TPA for a new production cycle or reprocessed through dynamic exchange aided by cyanoacetate chain-ends. This study lays the scientific groundwork for the design of robust and recyclable thermosets, with transformative potential in plastic engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheng Wang
- Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 1 Pesek Road, Jurong Island, Singapore 627833, Singapore
| | - Hongzhi Feng
- Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 1 Pesek Road, Jurong Island, Singapore 627833, Singapore
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Based Polymeric Materials Technology and Application of Zhejiang Province, Laboratory of Polymers and Composites, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jason Y C Lim
- Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Singapore
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore
| | - Ke Li
- Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Singapore
| | - Bofan Li
- Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 1 Pesek Road, Jurong Island, Singapore 627833, Singapore
| | - Justin J Q Mah
- Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Singapore
| | - Zhenxiang Xing
- Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Singapore
| | - Jin Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Based Polymeric Materials Technology and Application of Zhejiang Province, Laboratory of Polymers and Composites, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
| | - Xian Jun Loh
- Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Singapore
| | - Zibiao Li
- Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 1 Pesek Road, Jurong Island, Singapore 627833, Singapore
- Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Singapore
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore
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4
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Shi C, Quinn EC, Diment WT, Chen EYX. Recyclable and (Bio)degradable Polyesters in a Circular Plastics Economy. Chem Rev 2024; 124:4393-4478. [PMID: 38518259 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/24/2024]
Abstract
Polyesters carrying polar main-chain ester linkages exhibit distinct material properties for diverse applications and thus play an important role in today's plastics economy. It is anticipated that they will play an even greater role in tomorrow's circular plastics economy that focuses on sustainability, thanks to the abundant availability of their biosourced building blocks and the presence of the main-chain ester bonds that can be chemically or biologically cleaved on demand by multiple methods and thus bring about more desired end-of-life plastic waste management options. Because of this potential and promise, there have been intense research activities directed at addressing recycling, upcycling or biodegradation of existing legacy polyesters, designing their biorenewable alternatives, and redesigning future polyesters with intrinsic chemical recyclability and tailored performance that can rival today's commodity plastics that are either petroleum based and/or hard to recycle. This review captures these exciting recent developments and outlines future challenges and opportunities. Case studies on the legacy polyesters, poly(lactic acid), poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate)s, poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(butylene succinate), and poly(butylene-adipate terephthalate), are presented, and emerging chemically recyclable polyesters are comprehensively reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changxia Shi
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Ethan C Quinn
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Wilfred T Diment
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Eugene Y-X Chen
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
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5
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Zhang D, Wang X, Zhang Z, Hadjichristidis N. Heteroatom Substitution Strategy Modulates Thermodynamics Towards Chemically Recyclable Polyesters and Monomeric Unit Sequence by Temperature Switching. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024:e202402233. [PMID: 38591713 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202402233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
In this paper, we proposed a heteroatom substitution strategy (HSS) in the δ-valerolactone (VL) system to modulate thermodynamics toward chemically recyclable polyesters. Three VL-based monomers containing different heteroatoms (M1 (N), M2 (S), and M3 (O)), instead of C-5 carbon, were designed and synthesized to verify our proposed HSS. All three monomers undergo organocatalytic living/controlled ROP and controllable depolymerization. Impressively, the resulting P(M1) achieved over 99 % monomer recovery under both mild solution depolymerization and high vacuum pyrolysis conditions without any side reactions, and the recycled monomers can be polymerized again forming new polymers. The systematic study of the relationship between heteroatom substitution and recyclability shows that introducing heteroatoms does change the thermodynamics of the monomers (ΔHp o, ΔSp o and Tc values), thereby adjusting the polymerizability and depolymerizability. DFT calculations found that the introduction of heteroatoms adjusts the ring strain by changing the angular strain of the monomers, and the order of their angular strain (M2>M1>M3) is consistent with the order of the experimentally obtained enthalpy change. Notably, the one-pot/one-step copolymerization of two of each of the three monomers enables the synthesis of sequence-controlled copolymers from gradient to random to block structures, by simply switching the copolymerization temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Da Zhang
- State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China
| | - Xin Wang
- State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China
| | - Zhengbiao Zhang
- State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China
- State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China
| | - Nikos Hadjichristidis
- Polymer Synthesis Laboratory, KAUST Catalysis Center, Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955, Saudi Arabia
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6
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Zhao JZ, Yue TJ, Ren BH, Lu XB, Ren WM. Closed-loop recycling of sulfur-rich polymers with tunable properties spanning thermoplastics, elastomers, and vitrimers. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3002. [PMID: 38589410 PMCID: PMC11001992 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47382-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The development of closed-loop recycling polymers that exhibit excellent performance is of great significance. Sulfur-rich polymers possessing excellent optical, thermal, and mechanical properties are promising candidates for chemical recycling but lack efficient synthetic strategies for achieving diverse structures. Herein, we report a universal synthetic strategy for producing polytrithiocarbonates, a class of sulfur-rich polymers, via the polycondensation of dithiols and dimethyl trithiocarbonate. This strategy has excellent compatibility with a wide range of monomers, including aliphatic, heteroatomic, and aromatic dithiols enabling the synthesis of polytrithiocarbonates with diverse structures. The present synthesis strategy offers a versatile platform for the construction of thermoplastics, elastomers, and vitrimers. Notably, these polytrithiocarbonates can be easily depolymerized via solvolysis into the corresponding monomers, which can be repolymerized to virgin polymers without changing the material properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Zhuo Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Frontiers Science Center for Smart Materials, Dalian University of Technology, 2 Linggong Road, Dalian, 116024, China
| | - Tian-Jun Yue
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Frontiers Science Center for Smart Materials, Dalian University of Technology, 2 Linggong Road, Dalian, 116024, China
| | - Bai-Hao Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Frontiers Science Center for Smart Materials, Dalian University of Technology, 2 Linggong Road, Dalian, 116024, China
| | - Xiao-Bing Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Frontiers Science Center for Smart Materials, Dalian University of Technology, 2 Linggong Road, Dalian, 116024, China
| | - Wei-Min Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Frontiers Science Center for Smart Materials, Dalian University of Technology, 2 Linggong Road, Dalian, 116024, China.
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7
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Weng C, Ding Z, Qiu W, Wang B, Tang X. Achieving Exceptional Thermal and Hydrolytic Resistance in Chemically Circular Polyesters via In-Chain 1,3-Cyclobutane Rings. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024:e202401682. [PMID: 38587230 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202401682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Revised: 03/31/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
Polyesters, a highly promising class of circular polymers for achieving a closed-loop sustainable plastic economy, inherently exhibit material stability defects, especially in thermal and hydrolytic instability. Here, we introduce a class of polyesters, P(4R-BL) (R=Ph, Bu), featuring conformationally rigid 1,3-cyclobutane rings in the backbone. These polyesters not only exhibit superior thermostability (Td,5%=376-380 °C) but also demonstrate exceptional hydrolytic resistance with good integrity even after 1 year in basic and acidic aqueous solutions, distinguishing themselves from typical counterparts. Tailoring the flexibility of the side group R enables the controlled thermal and mechanical performance of P(4Ph-BL) and P(4Bu-BL) to rival durable syndiotactic polystyrene (SPS) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE), respectively. Significantly, despite their high stability, both polyesters can be effectively depolymerized into pristine monomers, establishing a circular life cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaoqun Weng
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Zhiqiang Ding
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composite & Functional Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350, China
| | - Weijie Qiu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Bin Wang
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composite & Functional Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350, China
| | - Xiaoyan Tang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
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8
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Deng Y, Zhang Q, Feringa BL. Dynamic Chemistry Toolbox for Advanced Sustainable Materials. Adv Sci (Weinh) 2024; 11:e2308666. [PMID: 38321810 PMCID: PMC11005721 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202308666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
Developing dynamic chemistry for polymeric materials offers chemical solutions to solve key problems associated with current plastics. Mechanical performance and dynamic function are equally important in material design because the former determines the application scope and the latter enables chemical recycling and hence sustainability. However, it is a long-term challenge to balance the subtle trade-off between mechanical robustness and dynamic properties in a single material. The rise of dynamic chemistry, including supramolecular and dynamic covalent chemistry, provides many opportunities and versatile molecular tools for designing constitutionally dynamic materials that can adapt, repair, and recycle. Facing the growing social need for developing advanced sustainable materials without compromising properties, recent progress showing how the toolbox of dynamic chemistry can be explored to enable high-performance sustainable materials by molecular engineering strategies is discussed here. The state of the art and recent milestones are summarized and discussed, followed by an outlook toward future opportunities and challenges present in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanxin Deng
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research CenterSchool of Chemistry and Technology130 Meilong RoadShanghai200237China
- Stratingh Institute for Chemistry and Zernike Institute for Advanced MaterialsFaculty of Science and EngineeringUniversity of GroningenNijenborgh 4Groningen9747 AGThe Netherlands
| | - Qi Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research CenterSchool of Chemistry and Technology130 Meilong RoadShanghai200237China
- Stratingh Institute for Chemistry and Zernike Institute for Advanced MaterialsFaculty of Science and EngineeringUniversity of GroningenNijenborgh 4Groningen9747 AGThe Netherlands
| | - Ben L. Feringa
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research CenterSchool of Chemistry and Technology130 Meilong RoadShanghai200237China
- Stratingh Institute for Chemistry and Zernike Institute for Advanced MaterialsFaculty of Science and EngineeringUniversity of GroningenNijenborgh 4Groningen9747 AGThe Netherlands
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9
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Ni K, Liu C, Yang H, Liu C, Park BD, Yu J, Yin C, Ran X, Wan J, Fan M, Du G, Yang L. Towards high performance wood composites through interface customization with cellulose-based adhesive. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 265:131053. [PMID: 38521299 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Revised: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
How to efficiently produce high performance plywood is of particular interest, while its sensitivity to moisture is overcome. This paper presents a simple and scalable strategy for the preparation of high-performance plywood based on the chemical bonding theory; a wood interfacial functionalized platform (WIFP) based on (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) was established. Interestingly, the APTES-enhanced dialdehyde cellulose-based adhesive (DAC-APTES) was able to effectively establish chemically active adhesive interfaces; the dry/wet shear strength of WIFP/DAC-APTES adhesive was 3.15/1.31 MPa, which was much higher than 0.7 MPa (GB/T 9846-2015). The prepared plywood showed excellent wood-polymer interface adhesion, which exceeded the force that the wood itself could withstand. In addition, the DAC-APTES adhesive exhibits moisture evaporation-induced curing behavior at room temperature and can easily support the weight of an adult weighing 65.7 Kg. This research provides a novel approach for functionalized interface design of wood products, an effective means to prepare high-performance plywood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelu Ni
- Yunnan Province Key Lab of Wood Adhesives and Glued Products, International Joint Research Center for Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; Yunnan International Joint R&D Center of Wood and Bamboo Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
| | - Chuanyin Liu
- Yunnan Province Key Lab of Wood Adhesives and Glued Products, International Joint Research Center for Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; Yunnan International Joint R&D Center of Wood and Bamboo Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
| | - Hongxing Yang
- Yunnan Province Key Lab of Wood Adhesives and Glued Products, International Joint Research Center for Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; Yunnan International Joint R&D Center of Wood and Bamboo Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
| | - Chang Liu
- College of Chemical Science and Engineering, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
| | - Byung-Dae Park
- Department of Wood and Paper Science, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
| | - Jiaojiao Yu
- Yunnan Province Key Lab of Wood Adhesives and Glued Products, International Joint Research Center for Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; Yunnan International Joint R&D Center of Wood and Bamboo Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
| | - Chunyan Yin
- Yunnan Province Key Lab of Wood Adhesives and Glued Products, International Joint Research Center for Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; Yunnan International Joint R&D Center of Wood and Bamboo Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
| | - Xin Ran
- Yunnan Province Key Lab of Wood Adhesives and Glued Products, International Joint Research Center for Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; Yunnan International Joint R&D Center of Wood and Bamboo Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
| | - Jianyong Wan
- Yunnan Province Key Lab of Wood Adhesives and Glued Products, International Joint Research Center for Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; Yunnan International Joint R&D Center of Wood and Bamboo Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
| | - Mizi Fan
- College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences, Brunel University London, UK.
| | - Guanben Du
- Yunnan Province Key Lab of Wood Adhesives and Glued Products, International Joint Research Center for Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; Yunnan International Joint R&D Center of Wood and Bamboo Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China.
| | - Long Yang
- Yunnan Province Key Lab of Wood Adhesives and Glued Products, International Joint Research Center for Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; Yunnan International Joint R&D Center of Wood and Bamboo Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China.
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10
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Cao Q, Tu YM, Fan HZ, Shan SY, Cai Z, Zhu JB. Torsional Strain Enabled Ring-Opening Polymerization towards Axially Chiral Semiaromatic Polyesters with Chemical Recyclability. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202400196. [PMID: 38356038 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202400196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2024] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
The development of new chemically recyclable polymers via monomer design would provide a transformative strategy to address the energy crisis and plastic pollution problem. Biaryl-fused cyclic esters were targeted to generate axially chiral polymers, which would impart new material performance. To overcome the non-polymerizability of the biaryl-fused monomer DBO, a cyclic ester Me-DBO installed with dimethyl substitution was prepared to enable its polymerizability via enhancing torsional strain. Impressively, Me-DBO readily went through well-controlled ring-opening polymerization, producing polymer P(Me-DBO) with high glass transition temperature (Tg >100 °C). Intriguingly, mixing these complementary enantiopure polymers containing axial chirality promoted a transformation from amorphous to crystalline material, affording a semicrystalline stereocomplex with a melting transition temperature more than 300 °C. P(Me-DBO) were capable of depolymerizing back to Me-DBO in high efficiency, highlighting an excellent recyclability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Cao
- National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, 29 Wangjiang Rd, Chengdu, 610064, P. R. China
| | - Yi-Min Tu
- National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, 29 Wangjiang Rd, Chengdu, 610064, P. R. China
| | - Hua-Zhong Fan
- National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, 29 Wangjiang Rd, Chengdu, 610064, P. R. China
| | - Si-Yi Shan
- National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, 29 Wangjiang Rd, Chengdu, 610064, P. R. China
| | - Zhongzheng Cai
- National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, 29 Wangjiang Rd, Chengdu, 610064, P. R. China
| | - Jian-Bo Zhu
- National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, 29 Wangjiang Rd, Chengdu, 610064, P. R. China
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11
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Zhang S, Li R, An Z. Degradable Block Copolymer Nanoparticles Synthesized by Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202315849. [PMID: 38155097 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202315849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
Polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) combines polymerization and in situ self-assembly of block copolymers in one system and has become a widely used method to prepare block copolymer nanoparticles at high concentrations. The persistence of polymers in the environment poses a huge threat to the ecosystem and represents a significant waste of resources. There is an urgent need to develop novel chemical approaches to synthesize degradable polymers. To meet with this demand, it is crucial to install degradability into PISA nanoparticles. Most recently, degradable PISA nanoparticles have been synthesized by introducing degradation mechanisms into either shell-forming or core-forming blocks. This Minireview summarizes the development in degradable block copolymer nanoparticles synthesized by PISA, including shell-degradable, core-degradable, and all-degradable nanoparticles. Future development will benefit from expansion of polymerization techniques with new degradation mechanisms and adaptation of high-throughput approaches for both PISA syntheses and degradation studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shudi Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China
| | - Ruoyu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China
| | - Zesheng An
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China
- Key Laboratory for Molecular Enzymology and Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China
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12
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Wu XT, Yang C, Xi JS, Shi C, Du FS, Li ZC. Enabling Closed-Loop Circularity of "Non-Polymerizable" α, β-Conjugated Lactone Towards High-Performance Polyester with the Assistance of Cyclopentadiene. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024:e202404179. [PMID: 38488293 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202404179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
Chemical recycling of polymers to monomers presents a promising solution to the escalating crisis associated with plastic waste. Despite considerable progress made in this field, the primary efforts have been focused on redesigning new monomers to produce readily recyclable polymers. In contrast, limited research into the potential of seemingly "non-polymerizable" monomers has been conducted. Herein, we propose a paradigm that leverages a "chaperone"-assisted strategy to establish closed-loop circularity for a "non-polymerizable" α, β-conjugated lactone, 5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one (DPO). The resulting PDPO, a structural analogue of poly(δ-valerolactone) (PVL), exhibits enhanced thermal properties with a melting point (Tm) of 114 °C and a decomposition temperature (Td,5%) of 305 °C. Notably, owing to the structural similarity between DPO and δ-VL, the copolymerization generates semi-crystalline P(DPO-co-VL)s irrespective of the DPO incorporation ratio. Intriguingly, the inherent C=C bonds in P(DPO-co-VL)s enable their convenient post-functionalization via Michael-addition reaction. Lastly, PDPO was demonstrated to be chemically recyclable via ring-closing metathesis (RCM), representing a significant step towards the pursuit of enabling the closed-loop circularity of "non-polymerizable" lactones without altering the ultimate polymer structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Tong Wu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry & Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Chun Yang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry & Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Jian-Shu Xi
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry & Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Changxia Shi
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry & Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Fu-Sheng Du
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry & Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Zi-Chen Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry & Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
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13
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Clark R, Shaver MP. Depolymerization within a Circular Plastics System. Chem Rev 2024; 124:2617-2650. [PMID: 38386877 PMCID: PMC10941197 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
The societal importance of plastics contrasts with the carelessness with which they are disposed. Their superlative properties lead to economic and environmental efficiency, but the linearity of plastics puts the climate, human health, and global ecosystems at risk. Recycling is fundamental to transitioning this linear model into a more sustainable, circular economy. Among recycling technologies, chemical depolymerization offers a route to virgin quality recycled plastics, especially when valorizing complex waste streams poorly served by mechanical methods. However, chemical depolymerization exists in a complex and interlinked system of end-of-life fates, with the complementarity of each approach key to environmental, economic, and societal sustainability. This review explores the recent progress made into the depolymerization of five commercial polymers: poly(ethylene terephthalate), polycarbonates, polyamides, aliphatic polyesters, and polyurethanes. Attention is paid not only to the catalytic technologies used to enhance depolymerization efficiencies but also to the interrelationship with other recycling technologies and to the systemic constraints imposed by a global economy. Novel polymers, designed for chemical depolymerization, are also concisely reviewed in terms of their underlying chemistry and potential for integration with current plastic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robbie
A. Clark
- Department
of Materials, School of Natural Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United
Kingdom
- Sustainable
Materials Innovation Hub, Henry Royce Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United
Kingdom
| | - Michael P. Shaver
- Department
of Materials, School of Natural Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United
Kingdom
- Sustainable
Materials Innovation Hub, Henry Royce Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United
Kingdom
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14
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Chen Y, Lan Q. Experimental evidence for immiscibility of enantiomeric polymers: Phase separation of high-molecular-weight poly(ʟ-lactide)/poly(ᴅ-lactide) blends and its impact on hindering stereocomplex crystallization. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 260:129459. [PMID: 38232890 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.129459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 01/01/2024] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Although polymers tend not to mix, it remains challenging to characterize the immiscibility of enantiomeric poly(ʟ-lactide) (PLLA) and poly(ᴅ-lactide) (PDLA), particularly with equivalent and high molecular weight (high MW), which frustratingly disfavors the exclusive stereocomplexation. By introducing a random copolymer (PLC) of ʟ-lactide and caprolactone to form binary blends with PLLA and PDLA, the phase behavior of high-MW PLLA/PDLA blends was investigated mainly by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). DSC results showed that PLLA/PLC blends exhibited a single glass transition temperature (Tg), which depended on the blending ratio and precisely corresponded with the theoretical values calculated from the Fox equation. In comparison, PDLA/PLC blends showed composition-dependent heat-capacity increment at two unchanged Tg values of pure PLC and PDLA. AFM observation revealed that PLC is completely miscible with PLLA at high MW but is immiscible with PDLA, logically suggesting immiscibility of high-MW PLLA and PDLA. Moreover, AFM results demonstrated that high-MW PLLA/PDLA blends exhibited spherical droplets in asymmetric blends and bicontinuous interpenetrating worm-like patterns in symmetric counterparts, showing distinct and well-defined interfaces, confirming the microphase separation. Additionally, different MWs fundamentally led to significant differences in miscibility, which consequently affected the crystallization behaviors of PLLA/PDLA blends. This work provides evidence for (im)miscibility and its crucial impact on the crystallization of PLLA/PDLA blends and has important implications for understanding the stereocomplexation of polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujing Chen
- Biomaterials Research Center, School of Biomedical Engineering, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Qiaofeng Lan
- Biomaterials Research Center, School of Biomedical Engineering, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
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15
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Han XW, Zhang X, Zhou Y, Maimaitiming A, Sun XL, Gao Y, Li P, Zhu B, Chen EYX, Kuang X, Tang Y. Circular olefin copolymers made de novo from ethylene and α-olefins. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1462. [PMID: 38368405 PMCID: PMC10874424 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45219-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Ethylene/α-olefin copolymers are produced in huge scale and widely used, but their after-use disposal has caused plastic pollution problems. Their chemical inertness made chemical re/upcycling difficult. Ideally, PE materials should be made de novo to have a circular closed-loop lifecycle. However, synthesis of circular ethylene/α-olefin copolymers, including high-volume, linear low-density PE as well as high-value olefin elastomers and block copolymers, presents a particular challenge due to difficulties in introducing branches while simultaneously installing chemical recyclability and directly using industrial ethylene and α-olefin feedstocks. Here we show that coupling of industrial coordination copolymerization of ethylene and α-olefins with a designed functionalized chain-transfer agent, followed by modular assembly of the resulting AB telechelic polyolefin building blocks by polycondensation, affords a series of ester-linked PE-based copolymers. These new materials not only retain thermomechanical properties of PE-based materials but also exhibit full chemical circularity via simple transesterification and markedly enhanced adhesion to polar surfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing-Wang Han
- Shenzhen Grubbs Institute, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Xun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Youyun Zhou
- Shenzhen Grubbs Institute, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Aizezi Maimaitiming
- State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Xiu-Li Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Yanshan Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
| | - Peizhi Li
- Shenzhen Grubbs Institute, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Boyu Zhu
- Shenzhen Grubbs Institute, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Eugene Y-X Chen
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1872, USA.
| | - Xiaokang Kuang
- Shenzhen Grubbs Institute, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Yong Tang
- Shenzhen Grubbs Institute, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
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16
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Lu X, Xie P, Li X, Li T, Sun J. Acid-Cleavable Aromatic Polymers for the Fabrication of Closed-Loop Recyclable Plastics with High Mechanical Strength and Excellent Chemical Resistance. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202316453. [PMID: 38130147 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202316453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Although closed-loop recycling of dynamic covalent bond-based plastics does not require catalysts, their mechanical strength and chemical stability remain a major concern. In this study, closed-loop recyclable poly(aryl imine) (PAI) plastics with high mechanical strength and excellent chemical resistance are fabricated by copolymerizing aromatic amines and aromatic aldehydes through dynamic imine bonds. The resulting PAI plastic with a tensile strength of 58.2 MPa exhibits excellent chemical resistance and mechanical stability in acidic and basic aqueous solutions and various organic solvents. The PAI plastics can be depolymerized in a mixed solvent of tetrahydrofuran (THF)/HCl aqueous solution through the dissociation of imine bonds, and the monomers can be facilely recovered with high purity and isolated yields due to the solubility difference between the aromatic amines and aromatic aldehydes in selective solvents. The efficient closed-loop recycling of the PAI plastic can also be realized through monomer conversion because the hydrolysis of the aromatic aldehydes generates aromatic amines. The recovered monomers can be used to re-fabricate original PAI plastics. This PAI plastic can be selectively recovered from complicated mixed polymer waste streams due to the mild depolymerization conditions of the PAI plastic and its high stability in most organic solvents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingyuan Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China
| | - Peng Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China
| | - Xiang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China
| | - Tianqi Li
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China
| | - Junqi Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China
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17
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Jiang H, Li Z, Dai Y, Ling Y, Mei S, Wang H, Mou Z. Synthesis of Poly(δ-caprolactone) via Bis(phenolate) Rare-Earth Metal Complexes Mediated Ring-Opening Polymerization and Its Chemical Recycling. Inorg Chem 2024; 63:441-450. [PMID: 38149999 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c03298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2023]
Abstract
New amine-amino-bis(phenolate) ligands (H2LtBu and H2LCl) with a cyclic tertiary amine (pyrrolidine) as a side arm and tBu or Cl group on the phenolate ring have been prepared. The alkane elimination reaction between these free ligands and rare-earth tris(alkyl)s Ln(CH2SiMe3)3(THF)2 afforded the corresponding silylalkyl complexes LtBuLnCH2SiMe3(THF) (Ln = Y (1), Lu (2)) and LClYCH2SiMe3(THF) (3), where the solid-state structure of complex 1 was unambiguously confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. These rare-earth metal complexes have been utilized as catalysts for the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of biobased δ-caprolactone (δCL), either in the absence or presence of alcohols, to give poly(δ-caprolactone) (PδCL) with controlled molecular weight and narrow distribution (Đ < 1.2). The polymerization kinetics of δCL in toluene with yttrium complexes 1 and 3 were investigated. Oligomers prepared with complex 3 alone and the 3/PhCHMeOH binary catalyst system were well characterized with 1H NMR spectroscopy and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF MS). Moreover, chemical recycling of the resultant PδCL was achieved with high yield in a solution at ambient temperature (>92%) or in bulk at 130 °C (>82%) by using commercial KOtBu as a promotor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Advanced Mass Spectrometry and Molecular Analysis of Zhejiang Province, School of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
| | - Zhiyuan Li
- Key Laboratory of Advanced Mass Spectrometry and Molecular Analysis of Zhejiang Province, School of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
| | - Yanan Dai
- Key Laboratory of Advanced Mass Spectrometry and Molecular Analysis of Zhejiang Province, School of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
| | - Yidong Ling
- Key Laboratory of Advanced Mass Spectrometry and Molecular Analysis of Zhejiang Province, School of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
| | - Shiqing Mei
- School of Biology and Chemical Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314000, Zhejiang, China
| | - Huifei Wang
- Key Laboratory of Advanced Mass Spectrometry and Molecular Analysis of Zhejiang Province, School of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
- Pingshan Translational Medicine Center, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518118 China
| | - Zehuai Mou
- Key Laboratory of Advanced Mass Spectrometry and Molecular Analysis of Zhejiang Province, School of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
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18
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Lu X, Zhang X, Zhang C, Zhang X. Cyclic Polyesters with Closed-Loop Recyclability from A New Chemically Reversible Alternating Copolymerization. Adv Sci (Weinh) 2024; 11:e2306072. [PMID: 38037295 PMCID: PMC10811513 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202306072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Polyesters with both cyclic topology and chemical recyclability are attractive. Here, the alternating copolymerization of cyclic anhydride and o-phthalaldehyde to synthesize a series of cyclic and recyclable polyesters are reported for the first time. Besides readily available monomers, the copolymerization is carried out at 25 °C, uses common Lewis/Brønsted acids as catalysts, and achieves high yields within 1 h. The resulting polyesters possess well-defined alternating sequences, high-purity cyclic topology, and tunable structures using distinct two monomer sets. Of interest, the copolymerization manifests obvious chemical reversibility as revealed by kinetic and thermodynamic studies, making the unprecedented polyesters easy to recycle to their distinct two monomers in a closed loop at high temperatures. This work furnishes a facile and efficient method to synthesize cyclic polyesters with closed-loop recyclability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxian Lu
- National Key Laboratory of Biobased Transportation Fuel TechnologyInternational Research Center for X PolymersDepartment of Polymer Science and EngineeringZhejiang UniversityHangzhou310027China
| | - Xun Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Biobased Transportation Fuel TechnologyInternational Research Center for X PolymersDepartment of Polymer Science and EngineeringZhejiang UniversityHangzhou310027China
| | - Chengjian Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Biobased Transportation Fuel TechnologyInternational Research Center for X PolymersDepartment of Polymer Science and EngineeringZhejiang UniversityHangzhou310027China
| | - Xinghong Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Biobased Transportation Fuel TechnologyInternational Research Center for X PolymersDepartment of Polymer Science and EngineeringZhejiang UniversityHangzhou310027China
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19
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Chiba Y, Kawatani R, Kohsaka Y. Chemically Recyclable Vinyl Polymers by Free Radical Polymerization of Cyclic Styrene Derivatives. ACS Macro Lett 2023; 12:1672-1676. [PMID: 38010412 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.3c00573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
To achieve a sustainable society supported by resource circulation, vinyl monomers that can radically polymerize and be recovered from vinyl polymers (VPs) are desirable. However, the chemical recycling of VPs remains challenging because of the difficulty in quantitative and selective main-chain scission or depolymerization. In this study, VPs of cyclic styrene derivatives, such as 3-methylene phthalide, were investigated to be chemically recyclable. The ring-opening of the pendant groups by saponification enhanced the steric hindrance of the pendants, which resulted in main-chain scission and depolymerization to the monomer precursors. Highly efficient chemical recycling was achieved by suspending the polymer in aqueous KOH. These results facilitate resource circulation toward achieving a sustainable society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yota Chiba
- Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 3-15-1 Tokida, Ueda, Nagano 386-8567, Japan
| | - Ryo Kawatani
- Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 3-15-1 Tokida, Ueda, Nagano 386-8567, Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Kohsaka
- Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 3-15-1 Tokida, Ueda, Nagano 386-8567, Japan
- Research Initiative for Supra-Materials (RISM), Interdisciplinary Cluster for Cutting Edge Research (ICCER), Shinshu University, 4-17-1 Wakasato, Nagano, Nagano 380-8553, Japan
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20
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Smith M, McGuire TM, Buchard A, Williams CK. Evaluating Heterodinuclear Mg(II)M(II) (M = Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn) Catalysts for the Chemical Recycling of Poly(cyclohexene carbonate). ACS Catal 2023; 13:15770-15778. [PMID: 38125977 PMCID: PMC10728899 DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.3c04208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Polymer chemical recycling to monomers (CRM) is important to help achieve a circular plastic economy, but the "rules" governing catalyst design for such processes remain unclear. Here, carbon dioxide-derived polycarbonates undergo CRM to produce epoxides and carbon dioxide. A series of dinuclear catalysts, Mg(II)M(II) where M(II) = Mg, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn, are compared for poly(cyclohexene carbonate) depolymerizations. The recycling is conducted in the solid state, at 140 °C monitored using thermal gravimetric analyses, or performed at larger-scale using laboratory glassware. The most active catalysts are, in order of decreasing rate, Mg(II)Co(II), Mg(II)Ni(II), and Mg(II)Zn(II), with the highest activity reaching 8100 h-1 and with >99% selectivity for cyclohexene oxide. Both the activity and selectivity values are the highest yet reported in this field, and the catalysts operate at low loadings and moderate temperatures (from 1:300 to 1:5000, 140 °C). For the best heterodinuclear catalysts, the depolymerization kinetics and activation barriers are determined. The rates in both reverse depolymerization and forward CHO/CO2 polymerization catalysis show broadly similar trends, but the processes feature different intermediates; forward polymerization depends upon a metal-carbonate intermediate, while reverse depolymerization depends upon a metal-alkoxide intermediate. These dinuclear catalysts are attractive for the chemical recycling of carbon dioxide-derived plastics and should be prioritized for recycling of other oxygenated polymers and copolymers, including polyesters and polyethers. This work provides insights into the factors controlling depolymerization catalysis and steers future recycling catalyst design toward exploitation of lightweight and abundant s-block metals, such as Mg(II).
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeleine
L. Smith
- Department
of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Rd, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K.
| | - Thomas M. McGuire
- Department
of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Rd, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K.
| | - Antoine Buchard
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Bath, Institute
for Sustainability, Claverton Down, Bath BA2
7AY, U.K.
| | - Charlotte K. Williams
- Department
of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Rd, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K.
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21
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Si G, Li C, Chen M, Chen C. Polymer Multi-Block and Multi-Block + Strategies for the Upcycling of Mixed Polyolefins and Other Plastics. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202311733. [PMID: 37850388 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202311733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Revised: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023]
Abstract
Due to a continued rise in the production and use of plastic products, their end-of-life pollution has become a pressing global issue. One of the biggest challenges in plastics recycling is the separation of different polymers. Multi-block copolymers (MBCPs) represent an efficient strategy for the upcycling of mixed plastics via induced compatibilization, but this approach is limited by difficulties associated with synthesis and structural modification. In this contribution, several synthetic strategies are explored to prepare MBCPs with tunable microstructures, which were then used as compatibilizer additives to upcycle mixtures of polyolefins with other plastics. A multi-block+ strategy based on a reactive telechelic block copolymer platform was introduced, which enabled block extension during the in situ melt blending of mixed plastics, leading to better compatibilizing properties as well as better 3D printing capability. This strategy was also applicable to more complex ternary plastic blends. The polymer multi-block strategy enabled by versatile MBCPs synthesis and the multi-block+ strategy enabled by in situ block extension show exciting opportunities for the upcycling of mixed plastics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guifu Si
- Key Laboratory of Precision and Intelligent Chemistry, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Chao Li
- Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Key Laboratory of Structure and Functional Regulation of Hybrid Materials of Ministry of Education, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, China
| | - Min Chen
- Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Key Laboratory of Structure and Functional Regulation of Hybrid Materials of Ministry of Education, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, China
| | - Changle Chen
- Key Laboratory of Precision and Intelligent Chemistry, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
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22
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Hou Y, Zhu G, Catt SO, Yin Y, Xu J, Blasco E, Zhao N. Closed-Loop Recyclable Silica-Based Nanocomposites with Multifunctional Properties and Versatile Processability. Adv Sci (Weinh) 2023; 10:e2304147. [PMID: 37844996 PMCID: PMC10724396 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202304147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
Most plastics originate from limited petroleum reserves and cannot be effectively recycled at the end of their life cycle, making them a significant threat to the environment and human health. Closed-loop chemical recycling, by depolymerizing plastics into monomers that can be repolymerized, offers a promising solution for recycling otherwise wasted plastics. However, most current chemically recyclable polymers may only be prepared at the gram scale, and their depolymerization typically requires harsh conditions and high energy consumption. Herein, it reports less petroleum-dependent closed-loop recyclable silica-based nanocomposites that can be prepared on a large scale and have a fully reversible polymerization/depolymerization capability at room temperature, based on catalysis of free aminopropyl groups with the assistance of diethylamine or ethylenediamine. The nanocomposites show glass-like hardness yet plastic-like light weight and toughness, exhibiting the highest specific mechanical strength superior even to common materials such as poly(methyl methacrylate), glass, and ZrO2 ceramic, as well as demonstrating multifunctionality such as anti-fouling, low thermal conductivity, and flame retardancy. Meanwhile, these nanocomposites can be easily processed by various plastic-like scalable manufacturing methods, such as compression molding and 3D printing. These nanocomposites are expected to provide an alternative to petroleum-based plastics and contribute to a closed-loop materials economy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Hou
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular SciencesLaboratory of Polymer Physics and ChemistryInstitute of ChemistryChinese Academy of SciencesBeijing100190P. R. China
- Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials (IMSEAM)Heidelberg University69120HeidelbergGermany
- Organic Chemistry Institute (OCI)Heidelberg University69120HeidelbergGermany
| | - Guangda Zhu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular SciencesLaboratory of Polymer Physics and ChemistryInstitute of ChemistryChinese Academy of SciencesBeijing100190P. R. China
- Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials (IMSEAM)Heidelberg University69120HeidelbergGermany
- Organic Chemistry Institute (OCI)Heidelberg University69120HeidelbergGermany
| | - Samantha O. Catt
- Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials (IMSEAM)Heidelberg University69120HeidelbergGermany
- Organic Chemistry Institute (OCI)Heidelberg University69120HeidelbergGermany
| | - Yuhan Yin
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular SciencesLaboratory of Polymer Physics and ChemistryInstitute of ChemistryChinese Academy of SciencesBeijing100190P. R. China
| | - Jian Xu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular SciencesLaboratory of Polymer Physics and ChemistryInstitute of ChemistryChinese Academy of SciencesBeijing100190P. R. China
| | - Eva Blasco
- Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials (IMSEAM)Heidelberg University69120HeidelbergGermany
- Organic Chemistry Institute (OCI)Heidelberg University69120HeidelbergGermany
| | - Ning Zhao
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular SciencesLaboratory of Polymer Physics and ChemistryInstitute of ChemistryChinese Academy of SciencesBeijing100190P. R. China
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23
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Li J, Zhang QY, Lu XB. Azopolyesters with Intrinsic Crystallinity and Photoswitchable Reversible Solid-to-Liquid Transitions. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202311158. [PMID: 37738210 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202311158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
Herein, we introduce a variety of azopolyesters (azobenzene-based polyesters) with remarkable intrinsic crystallinity and photoinduced reversible solid-to-liquid transition abilities from copolymerization of azobenzene-based epoxides with cyclic anhydrides. The length of the soft alkyl side-chain inlaid with azobenzenes and stereoregularity of main-chain of azopolymers have tremendous effects on crystallization properties of the resulting polyesters with melting temperature (Tm ) in the range of 51-251 °C. Moreover, some of azopolyesters possess excellently photoinduced reversible solid-to-liquid transition performance thanks to trans-cis photoisomerization of azobenzenes. Trans-azopolyesters are yellow solids with Tm s or glass transition temperatures (Tg s) above room temperature, whereas cis-polymers are red liquids with Tg s below -20 °C. These azopolyesters could be applied as novel light-switchable adhesives for quartz/quartz, wood/wood and quartz/wood adhesion, with the strength in the range of 0.73-0.89 MPa for trans-polymers. Conversely, the adhesion strength of liquefied cis-azopolyesters generated from the irradiation of trans-polymers by UV light was about 0.1 MPa, which shows light enable to control the adhesion process with high spatiotemporal resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Li
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Frontiers Science Center for Smart Materials, Dalian University of Technology, 2 Linggong Road, 116024, Dalian, China
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Special Functional and Smart Polymer Materials of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 710072, Xi'an, China
| | - Qiu-Yu Zhang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Special Functional and Smart Polymer Materials of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 710072, Xi'an, China
| | - Xiao-Bing Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Frontiers Science Center for Smart Materials, Dalian University of Technology, 2 Linggong Road, 116024, Dalian, China
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24
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Bai X, Aireddy DR, Roy A, Ding K. Solvent-Free Depolymerization of Plastic Waste Enabled by Plastic-Catalyst Interfacial Engineering. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202309949. [PMID: 37775978 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202309949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
Depolymerization of condensation polymers by chemolysis often suffers from the large usage of solvents and homogeneous catalysts such as acids, bases, and metal salts. The catalytic efficiency of heterogeneous catalysts is largely constrained by the poor interfacial contact between solid catalysts and solid plastics below melting points. We report here our discovery of autogenous heterogeneous catalyst layer on polyethylene terephthalate surfaces during the generally believed homogeneous catalytic depolymerization process. Inspired by the "contact mass" concept in industrial chlorosilane production, we further demonstrate that the construction of plastic-catalyst solid-solid interfaces enables solvent-free depolymerization of polyethylene terephthalate by vapor phase methanolysis at relatively low temperatures. Trace amounts of earth-abundant element (zinc) introduced by electrostatic adsorption is sufficient for catalyzing the depolymerization. The concept of plastic-catalyst contact mass interfacial catalysis might inspire new pathways for tackling plastic waste problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoshen Bai
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
| | - Divakar R Aireddy
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
| | - Amitava Roy
- Center for Advanced Microstructures & Devices, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70806, USA
| | - Kunlun Ding
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
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25
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Zhao Y, Rettner EM, Harry KL, Hu Z, Miscall J, Rorrer NA, Miyake GM. Chemically recyclable polyolefin-like multiblock polymers. Science 2023; 382:310-314. [PMID: 37856598 DOI: 10.1126/science.adh3353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Polyolefins are the most important and largest volume plastics produced. Unfortunately, the enormous use of plastics and lack of effective disposal or recycling options have created a plastic waste catastrophe. In this work, we report an approach to create chemically recyclable polyolefin-like materials with diverse mechanical properties through the construction of multiblock polymers from hard and soft oligomeric building blocks synthesized with ruthenium-mediated ring-opening metathesis polymerization of cyclooctenes. The multiblock polymers exhibit broad mechanical properties, spanning elastomers to plastomers to thermoplastics, while integrating a high melting transition temperature (Tm) and low glass transition temperature (Tg), making them suitable for use across diverse applications (Tm as high as 128°C and Tg as low as -60°C). After use, the different plastics can be combined and efficiently deconstructed back to the fundamental hard and soft building blocks for separation and repolymerization to realize a closed-loop recycling process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yucheng Zhao
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Emma M Rettner
- School of Advanced Materials Discovery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Katherine L Harry
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Zhitao Hu
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Joel Miscall
- Renewable Resources and Enabling Sciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA
- BOTTLE Consortium, Golden, CO 80401, USA
| | - Nicholas A Rorrer
- Renewable Resources and Enabling Sciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA
- BOTTLE Consortium, Golden, CO 80401, USA
| | - Garret M Miyake
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
- School of Advanced Materials Discovery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
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26
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Levenson AM, Morrison CM, Huang PR, Wang TW, Carter-Schwendler Z, Golder MR. Ancillary Ligand Lability Improves Control in Cyclic Ruthenium Benzylidene Initiated Ring-Expansion Metathesis Polymerizations. ACS Macro Lett 2023; 12:1286-1292. [PMID: 37695322 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.3c00520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
The synthesis of well-defined cyclic polymers is crucial to exploring applications spanning engineering, energy, and biomedicine. These materials lack chain-ends and are therefore imbued with unique bulk properties. Despite recent advancements, the general methodology for controlled cyclic polymer synthesis via ring-expansion metathesis polymerization (REMP) remains challenging. Low initiator activity leads to high molar mass polymers at short reaction times that subsequently "evolve" to smaller polymeric products. In this work, we demonstrate that in situ addition of pyridine to the tethered ruthenium-benzylidene REMP initiator CB6 increases ancillary ligand lability to synthesize controlled and low dispersity cyclic poly(norbornene) on a short time scale without relying on molar mass evolution events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adelaide M Levenson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Christine M Morrison
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Pin-Ruei Huang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Teng-Wei Wang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Zak Carter-Schwendler
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Matthew R Golder
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
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27
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Deng Z, Gillies ER. Emerging Trends in the Chemistry of End-to-End Depolymerization. JACS Au 2023; 3:2436-2450. [PMID: 37772181 PMCID: PMC10523501 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.3c00345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Over the past couple of decades, polymers that depolymerize end-to-end upon cleavage of their backbone or activation of a terminal functional group, sometimes referred to as "self-immolative" polymers, have been attracting increasing attention. They are of growing interest in the context of enhancing polymer degradability but also in polymer recycling as they allow monomers to be regenerated in a controlled manner under mild conditions. Furthermore, they are highly promising for applications as smart materials due to their ability to provide an amplified response to a specific signal, as a single sensing event is translated into the generation of many small molecules through a cascade of reactions. From a chemistry perspective, end-to-end depolymerization relies on the principles of self-immolative linkers and polymer ceiling temperature (Tc). In this article, we will introduce the key chemical concepts and foundations of the field and then provide our perspective on recent exciting developments. For example, over the past few years, new depolymerizable backbones, including polyacetals, polydisulfides, polyesters, polythioesters, and polyalkenamers, have been developed, while modern approaches to depolymerize conventional backbones such as polymethacrylates have also been introduced. Progress has also been made on the topological evolution of depolymerizable systems, including the introduction of fully depolymerizable block copolymers, hyperbranched polymers, and polymer networks. Furthermore, precision sequence-defined oligomers have been synthesized and studied for data storage and encryption. Finally, our perspectives on future opportunities and challenges in the field will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengyu Deng
- Department
of Chemistry, The University of Western
Ontario, 1151 Richmond St., London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Elizabeth R. Gillies
- Department
of Chemistry, The University of Western
Ontario, 1151 Richmond St., London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
- Department
of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St., London, Ontario N6A 5B9, Canada
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28
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McGuire T, Buchard A, Williams C. Chemical Recycling of Commercial Poly(l-lactic acid) to l-Lactide Using a High-Performance Sn(II)/Alcohol Catalyst System. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:19840-19848. [PMID: 37654014 PMCID: PMC10510327 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c05863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
Poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) is a leading commercial polymer produced from biomass, showing useful properties for plastics and fiber applications; after use, it is compostable. One area for improvement is postconsumer waste PLLA chemical recycling to monomer (CRM), i.e., the formation of l-lactide (l-LA) from waste plastic. This process is currently feasible at high reaction temperatures and shows low catalytic activity accompanied, in some cases, by side reactions, including epimerization. Here, a commercial Sn(II) catalyst, applied with nonvolatile commercial alcohol, enables highly efficient CRM of PLLA to yield l-LA in excellent yield and purity (92% yield, >99% l-LA from theoretical max.). The depolymerization is performed using neat polymer films at low temperatures (160 °C) under a nitrogen flow or vacuum. The chemical recycling operates with outstanding activity, achieving turnover frequencies which are up to 3000× higher than previously excellent catalysts and applied at loadings up to 6000× lower than previously leading catalysts. The catalyst system achieves a TOF = 3000 h-1 at 0.01 mol % or 1:10,000 catalyst:PLLA loading. The depolymerization of waste PLLA plastic packaging (coffee cup lids) produces pure l-LA in excellent yield and selectivity. The new catalyst system (Sn + alcohol) can itself be recycled four times in different PLLA "batch degradations" and maintains its high catalytic productivity, activity, and selectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas
M. McGuire
- Department
of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TA, U.K.
| | - Antoine Buchard
- Department
of Chemistry, Institute for Sustainability, University of Bath, Claverton
Down, Bath BA2 7AY, U.K.
| | - Charlotte Williams
- Department
of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TA, U.K.
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29
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Hou Y, Feng J, Tian R, Lu C, Duan X. Regulating Degradation Pathways of Polymers by Radical-Triggered Luminescence. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202307573. [PMID: 37489697 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202307573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the radical behaviours during polymer degradation is beneficial to unveil and regulate the degradation pathways of polymers to achieve a sustainable polymer development. However, it is a long-standing challenge to study radical behaviours owing to the ultra-short lifetime of the transient radicals generated during the polymer degradation. In this contribution, we have proposed the radical-triggered luminescence to monitor the radical behaviours during polymer degradation without/with the addition of inorganic additives. It was disclosed that the pure polymers showed a single sigmoidal dynamic curve from peroxy radicals (ROO⋅) emissions, leading to the exponential proliferation for the degradation evolution. Alternatively, the degradation pathways with the addition of additives, layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with positively charged Al centers, could be modulated into a double sigmoidal dynamics, involving the main product of alkoxy radicals (RO⋅) with the activation energy of 40.2 kJ/mol and a small amount of ROO⋅ with 76.3 kJ/mol, respectively. Accordingly, the polymers with the additive-regulated pathways could exhibit prominently anti-degradation behaviours. This work is beneficial for the deep understanding of the radical mechanisms during polymer degradation, and for the rational design of anti-degradation polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Jing Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Rui Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Chao Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China
- Green Catalysis Center, College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
| | - Xue Duan
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China
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30
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Xia Y, Sun Y, Liu Z, Zhang C, Zhang X. Modular Alcohol Click Chemistry Enables Facile Synthesis of Recyclable Polymers with Tunable Structure. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202306731. [PMID: 37490022 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202306731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023]
Abstract
The facile synthesis of chemically recyclable polymers derived from sustainable feedstocks presents enormous challenges. Here, we develop a novel, modular, and efficient click reaction for connecting primary, secondary, or tertiary alcohols with activated alkenes via a bridge molecule of carbonyl sulfide (COS). The click reaction is successfully applied to synthesize a series of recyclable polymers by the step polyaddition of diols, diacrylates, and COS. Diols and diacrylates are common chemicals and can be produced from biorenewable sources, and COS is released as the industrial waste. In addition to sustainable monomers, the approach is atom-economical, wide in scope, metal-free, and performed under mild conditions, affording unprecedented polymers with nearly quantitative yields. The produced polymers also possess predesigned and widely tunable structure owing to the versatility of our method and the broad variety of monomers. The in-chain thiocarbonate and ester polar groups can play as breakpoints, allowing these polymers to be easily recycled. Overall, the polymers have broad prospects for green materials given their facile synthesis, readily available feedstocks, desirable performance, and chemical recyclability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanni Xia
- National Key Laboratory of Biobased Transportation Fuel Technology, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
| | - Yue Sun
- National Key Laboratory of Biobased Transportation Fuel Technology, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
| | - Ziheng Liu
- National Key Laboratory of Biobased Transportation Fuel Technology, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
| | - Chengjian Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Biobased Transportation Fuel Technology, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
| | - Xinghong Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Biobased Transportation Fuel Technology, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
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31
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Zhang X, Guo W, Zhang C, Zhang X. A recyclable polyester library from reversible alternating copolymerization of aldehyde and cyclic anhydride. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5423. [PMID: 37669954 PMCID: PMC10480228 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41136-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Our society is pursuing chemically recyclable polymers to accelerate the green revolution in plastics. Here, we develop a recyclable polyester library from the alternating copolymerization of aldehyde and cyclic anhydride. Although these two monomer sets have little or no thermodynamic driving force for homopolymerization, their copolymerization demonstrates the unexpected alternating characteristics. In addition to readily available monomers, the method is performed under mild conditions, uses common Lewis/Brønsted acids as catalysts, achieves the facile tuning of polyester structure using two distinct monomer sets, and yields 60 polyesters. Interestingly, the copolymerization exhibits the chemical reversibility attributed to its relatively low enthalpy, which makes the resulting polyesters perform closed-loop recycling to monomers at high temperatures. This study provides a modular, efficient, and facile synthesis of recyclable polyesters using sustainable monomers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xun Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Biobased Transportation Fuel Technology, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
| | - Wenqi Guo
- National Key Laboratory of Biobased Transportation Fuel Technology, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
| | - Chengjian Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Biobased Transportation Fuel Technology, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China.
| | - Xinghong Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Biobased Transportation Fuel Technology, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China.
- Center of Chemistry for Frontier Technologies, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China.
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32
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Wu L, Zhou Z, Sathe D, Zhou J, Dym S, Zhao Z, Wang J, Niu J. Precision native polysaccharides from living polymerization of anhydrosugars. Nat Chem 2023; 15:1276-1284. [PMID: 37106096 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-023-01193-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
The composition, sequence, length and type of glycosidic linkage of polysaccharides profoundly affect their biological and physical properties. However, investigation of the structure-function relationship of polysaccharides is hampered by difficulties in accessing well-defined polysaccharides in sufficient quantities. Here we report a chemical approach to precision polysaccharides with native glycosidic linkages via living cationic ring-opening polymerization of 1,6-anhydrosugars. We synthesized well-defined polysaccharides with tunable molecular weight, low dispersity and excellent regio- and stereo-selectivity using a boron trifluoride etherate catalyst and glycosyl fluoride initiators. Computational studies revealed that the reaction propagated through the monomer α-addition to the oxocarbenium and was controlled by the reversible deactivation of the propagating oxocarbenium to form the glycosyl fluoride dormant species. Our method afforded a facile and scalable pathway to multiple biologically relevant precision polysaccharides, including D-glucan, D-mannan and an unusual L-glucan. We demonstrated that catalytic depolymerization of precision polysaccharides efficiently regenerated monomers, suggesting their potential utility as a class of chemically recyclable materials with tailored thermal and mechanical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lianqian Wu
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| | - Zefeng Zhou
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| | - Devavrat Sathe
- School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH, USA
| | - Junfeng Zhou
- School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH, USA
| | - Shoshana Dym
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| | - Zhensheng Zhao
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| | - Junpeng Wang
- School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH, USA
| | - Jia Niu
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.
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33
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Kariyawasam LS, Highmoore JF, Yang Y. Chemically Recyclable Dithioacetal Polymers via Reversible Entropy-Driven Ring-Opening Polymerization. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202303039. [PMID: 36988027 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202303039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
In a sustainable circular economy, polymers capable of chemical recycling to monomers are highly desirable. We report an efficient monomer-polymer recycling of polydithioacetal (PDTA). Pristine PDTAs were readily synthesized from 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzaldehyde and alkyl dithiols. They then exhibited depolymerizability via ring-closing depolymerization into macrocycles, followed by entropy-driven ring-opening polymerization (ED-ROP) to reform the virgin polymers. High conversions were obtained for both the forward and reverse reactions. Once crosslinked, the network exhibited thermal reprocessability enabled by acid-catalyzed dithioacetal exchange. The network retained the recyclability into macrocyclic monomers in solvent which can repolymerize to regenerate the crosslinked network. These results demonstrated PDTA as a new molecular platform for the design of recyclable polymers and the advantages of ED-ROP for which polymerization is favored at higher temperatures.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ying Yang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV 89557, USA
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34
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Gallin CF, Lee WW, Byers JA. A Simple, Selective, and General Catalyst for Ring Closing Depolymerization of Polyesters and Polycarbonates for Chemical Recycling. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202303762. [PMID: 37093979 PMCID: PMC10518907 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202303762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
The ability to efficiently and selectively process mixed polymer waste is important to address the growing plastic waste problem. Herein, we report that the combination of ZnCl2 and an additive amount of poly(ethylene glycol) under vacuum can readily and selectively depolymerize polyesters and polycarbonates with high ceiling temperatures (Tc >200 °C) back to their constitute monomers. Mechanistic experiments implicate a random chain scission mechanism and a catalyst structure containing one equivalent of ZnCl2 per ethylene glycol repeat unit in the poly(ethylene glycol). In addition to being general for a wide variety of polyesters and polycarbonates, the catalyst system could selectively depolymerize a polyester in the presence of other commodity plastics, demonstrating how reactive distillation using the ZnCl2 /PEG600 catalyst system can be used to separate mixed plastic waste.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connor F Gallin
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, 2609 Beacon Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA
| | - Won-Woo Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, 2609 Beacon Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA
| | - Jeffery A Byers
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, 2609 Beacon Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA
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35
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Su YL, Yue L, Tran H, Xu M, Engler A, Ramprasad R, Qi HJ, Gutekunst WR. Chemically Recyclable Polymer System Based on Nucleophilic Aromatic Ring-Opening Polymerization. J Am Chem Soc 2023. [PMID: 37307298 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c03455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The development of chemically recyclable polymers with desirable properties is a long-standing but challenging goal in polymer science. Central to this challenge is the need for reversible chemical reactions that can equilibrate at rapid rates and provide efficient polymerization and depolymerization cycles. Based on the dynamic chemistry of nucleophilic aromatic substitution (SNAr), we report a chemically recyclable polythioether system derived from readily accessible benzothiocane (BT) monomers. This system represents the first example of a well-defined monomer platform capable of chain-growth ring-opening polymerization through an SNAr manifold. The polymerizations reach completion in minutes, and the pendant functionalities are easily customized to tune material properties or render the polymers amenable to further functionalization. The resulting polythioether materials exhibit comparable performance to commercial thermoplastics and can be depolymerized to the original monomers in high yields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong-Liang Su
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Liang Yue
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Huan Tran
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Mizhi Xu
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Anthony Engler
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Rampi Ramprasad
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - H Jerry Qi
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Will R Gutekunst
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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36
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Tu YM, Gong FL, Wu YC, Cai Z, Zhu JB. Insights into substitution strategy towards thermodynamic and property regulation of chemically recyclable polymers. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3198. [PMID: 37268636 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38916-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of chemically recyclable polymers serves as an attractive approach to address the global plastic pollution crisis. Monomer design principle is the key to achieving chemical recycling to monomer. Herein, we provide a systematic investigation to evaluate a range of substitution effects and structure-property relationships in the ɛ-caprolactone (CL) system. Thermodynamic and recyclability studies reveal that the substituent size and position could regulate their ceiling temperatures (Tc). Impressively, M4 equipped with a tert-butyl group displays a Tc of 241 °C. A series of spirocyclic acetal-functionalized CLs prepared by a facile two-step reaction undergo efficient ring-opening polymerization and subsequent depolymerization. The resulting polymers demonstrate various thermal properties and a transformation of the mechanical performance from brittleness to ductility. Notably, the toughness and ductility of P(M13) is comparable to the commodity plastic isotactic polypropylene. This comprehensive study is aimed to provide a guideline to the future monomer design towards chemically recyclable polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Min Tu
- National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, 29 Wangjiang Rd, Chengdu, 610064, P. R. China
| | - Fu-Long Gong
- National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, 29 Wangjiang Rd, Chengdu, 610064, P. R. China
| | - Yan-Chen Wu
- National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, 29 Wangjiang Rd, Chengdu, 610064, P. R. China
| | - Zhongzheng Cai
- National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, 29 Wangjiang Rd, Chengdu, 610064, P. R. China.
| | - Jian-Bo Zhu
- National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, 29 Wangjiang Rd, Chengdu, 610064, P. R. China.
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37
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Qiu M, Cao P, Cao L, Tan Z, Hou C, Wang L, Wang J. Parameter Determination of the 2S2P1D Model and Havriliak-Negami Model Based on the Genetic Algorithm and Levenberg-Marquardt Optimization Algorithm. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:polym15112540. [PMID: 37299338 DOI: 10.3390/polym15112540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
This study utilizes the genetic algorithm (GA) and Levenberg-Marquardt (L-M) algorithm to optimize the parameter acquisition process for two commonly used viscoelastic models: 2S2P1D and Havriliak-Negami (H-N). The effects of the various combinations of the optimization algorithms on the accuracy of the parameter acquisition in these two constitutive equations are investigated. Furthermore, the applicability of the GA among different viscoelastic constitutive models is analyzed and summarized. The results indicate that the GA can ensure a correlation coefficient of 0.99 between the fitting result and the experimental data of the 2S2P1D model parameters, and it is further proved that the fitting accuracy can be achieved through the secondary optimization via the L-M algorithm. Since the H-N model involves fractional power functions, high-precision fitting by directly fitting the parameters to experimental data is challenging. This study proposes an improved semi-analytical method that first fits the Cole-Cole curve of the H-N model, followed by optimizing the parameters of the H-N model using the GA. The correlation coefficient of the fitting result can be improved to over 0.98. This study also reveals a close relationship between the optimization of the H-N model and the discreteness and overlap of experimental data, which may be attributed to the inclusion of fractional power functions in the H-N model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingzhu Qiu
- Faculty of Architecture, Civil and Transportation Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Peng Cao
- Faculty of Architecture, Civil and Transportation Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Liang Cao
- Faculty of Architecture, Civil and Transportation Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Zhifei Tan
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Chuantao Hou
- Science and Technology on Reliability and Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Beijing Institute of Structure and Environment Engineering, Beijing 100076, China
| | - Long Wang
- Science and Technology on Reliability and Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Beijing Institute of Structure and Environment Engineering, Beijing 100076, China
| | - Jianru Wang
- The 41st Institute of the Fourth Research Academy of CASC, Xi'an 100124, China
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38
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Zheng J, Arifuzzaman M, Tang X, Chen XC, Saito T. Recent development of end-of-life strategies for plastic in industry and academia: bridging their gap for future deployment. Mater Horiz 2023; 10:1608-1624. [PMID: 37022098 DOI: 10.1039/d2mh01549h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Plastics have advanced society as a lightweight, inexpensive material of choice, and consequently over 400 million metric tons of plastics are produced each year. The difficulty with their reuse, due to varying chemical structures and properties, is leading to one of the major global challenges of the 21st century-plastic waste management. While mechanical recycling has been proven successful for certain types of plastic waste, most of these technologies can only recycle single types of plastics at a time. Since most recycling collection streams today have a mixture of different plastic types, additional sorting is required before the plastic waste can be processed by recyclers. To combat this problem, academics have devoted their efforts to developing technologies such as selective deconstruction catalysts or compatibilizer for commodity plastics and new types of upcycled plastics. In this review, the strengths and challenges of current commercial recycling processes are discussed, followed by examples of the advancement in academic research. Bridging a gap to integrate new recycling materials and processes into current industrial practices will improve commercial recycling and plastic waste management, as well as create new economies. Furthermore, establishing closed-loop circularity of plastics by the combined efforts of academia and industry will contribute toward establishing a net zero carbon society by significant reduction of carbon and energy footprints. This review serves as a guide to understand the gap and help to create a path for new discovery in academic research to be integrated into industrial practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jackie Zheng
- Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
- Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Education, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, TN 37966, USA
| | - Md Arifuzzaman
- Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
| | - Xiaomin Tang
- Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
| | - Xi Chelsea Chen
- Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
| | - Tomonori Saito
- Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
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39
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Jones GR, Wang HS, Parkatzidis K, Whitfield R, Truong NP, Anastasaki A. Reversed Controlled Polymerization (RCP): Depolymerization from Well-Defined Polymers to Monomers. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:9898-9915. [PMID: 37127289 PMCID: PMC10176471 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c00589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Controlled polymerization methods are well-established synthetic protocols for the design and preparation of polymeric materials with a high degree of precision over molar mass and architecture. Exciting recent work has shown that the high end-group fidelity and/or functionality inherent in these techniques can enable new routes to depolymerization under relatively mild conditions. Converting polymers back to pure monomers by depolymerization is a potential solution to the environmental and ecological concerns associated with the ultimate fate of polymers. This perspective focuses on the emerging field of depolymerization from polymers synthesized by controlled polymerizations including radical, ionic, and metathesis polymerizations. We provide a critical review of current literature categorized according to polymerization technique and explore numerous concepts and ideas which could be implemented to further enhance depolymerization including lower temperature systems, catalytic depolymerization, increasing polymer scope, and controlled depolymerization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Glen R Jones
- Laboratory for Polymeric Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Hyun Suk Wang
- Laboratory for Polymeric Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Kostas Parkatzidis
- Laboratory for Polymeric Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Richard Whitfield
- Laboratory for Polymeric Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Nghia P Truong
- Laboratory for Polymeric Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Athina Anastasaki
- Laboratory for Polymeric Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
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40
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Shi C, Zhang Z, Scoti M, Yan XY, Chen EYX. Endowing Polythioester Vitrimer with Intrinsic Crystallinity and Chemical Recyclability. ChemSusChem 2023; 16:e202300008. [PMID: 36638158 DOI: 10.1002/cssc.202300008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Technologically important thermosets face a long-standing end-of-life (EoL) problem of non-reprocessability, a more sustainable solution of which has resolved to nascent vitrimers that can merge the robust material properties of thermosets and the reprocessability of thermoplastics. However, the lifecycle of vitrimers is still finite, as they often suffer from significant deterioration of mechanical performance following multiple reprocessing cycles, analogous to mechanical recycling, and they often show undesired creep under working conditions. To address these two key limitations, we have developed a cross-linked semi-crystalline polythioester with both dynamic covalent bonds and intrinsic crystallinity and chemical recyclability, affording a vitrimeric system that exhibits not only reprocessability and crystallinity-restricted creep but also complete chemical recyclability to initial monomer by catalyzed depolymerization in solution or bulk. Therefore, reported herein is an "infinite" vitrimer system that is empowered with a facile closed-loop EoL option once serial reprocessing deteriorates performance and the material can no longer meet the application requirements. Specifically, the polythioester vitrimer was constructed by copolymerization of a bicyclic thioester with a bis-dithiolane, producing dynamically cross-linked polythioesters with excellent property tunability, from amorphous to semi-crystalline states and melting transition temperatures from 91 to 178 °C.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changxia Shi
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523-1872, United States
| | - Zhen Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523-1872, United States
| | - Miriam Scoti
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523-1872, United States
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università di Napoli Federico II, Complesso Monte S. Angelo, Via Cintia, 80126, Napoli, Italy
| | - Xiao-Yun Yan
- Department of Polymer Science, School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, 44325-3909, United States
| | - Eugene Y-X Chen
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523-1872, United States
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41
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Yue L, Su YL, Li M, Yu L, Montgomery SM, Sun X, Finn MG, Gutekunst WR, Ramprasad R, Qi HJ. One-Pot Synthesis of Depolymerizable δ-Lactone Based Vitrimers. Adv Mater 2023:e2300954. [PMID: 37060583 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202300954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
A depolymerizable vitrimer that allows both reprocessability and monomer recovery by a simple and scalable one-pot two-step synthesis of vitrimers from cyclic lactones is reported. Biobased δ-valerolactone with alkyl substituents (δ-lactone) has low ceiling temperature; thus, their ring-opening-polymerized aliphatic polyesters are capable of depolymerizing back to monomers. In this work, the amorphous poly(δ-lactone) is solidified into an elastomer (i.e., δ-lactone vitrimer) by a vinyl ether cross-linker with dynamic acetal linkages, giving the merits of reprocessing and healing. Thermolysis of the bulk δ-lactone vitrimer at 200 °C can recover 85-90 wt% of the material, allowing reuse without losing value and achieving a successful closed-loop life cycle. It further demonstrates that the new vitrimer has excellent properties, with the potential to serve as a biobased and sustainable replacement of conventional soft elastomers for various applications such as lenses, mold materials, soft robots, and microfluidic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Yue
- George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Yong-Liang Su
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Mingzhe Li
- George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Luxia Yu
- George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - S Macrae Montgomery
- George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Xiaohao Sun
- George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - M G Finn
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Will R Gutekunst
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Rampi Ramprasad
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - H Jerry Qi
- George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- Rewable Bioproduct Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
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42
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Zhou L, Zhang Z, Shi C, Scoti M, Barange DK, Gowda RR, Chen EYX. Chemically circular, mechanically tough, and melt-processable polyhydroxyalkanoates. Science 2023; 380:64-69. [PMID: 37023198 DOI: 10.1126/science.adg4520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
Abstract
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) have attracted increasing interest as sustainable plastics because of their biorenewability and biodegradability in the ambient environment. However, current semicrystalline PHAs face three long-standing challenges to broad commercial implementation and application: lack of melt processability, mechanical brittleness, and unrealized recyclability, the last of which is essential for achieving a circular plastics economy. Here we report a synthetic PHA platform that addresses the origin of thermal instability by eliminating α-hydrogens in the PHA repeat units and thus precluding facile cis-elimination during thermal degradation. This simple α,α-disubstitution in PHAs enhances the thermal stability so substantially that the PHAs become melt-processable. Synergistically, this structural modification also endows the PHAs with the mechanical toughness, intrinsic crystallinity, and closed-loop chemical recyclability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Zhou
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1872, USA
| | - Zhen Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1872, USA
| | - Changxia Shi
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1872, USA
| | - Miriam Scoti
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1872, USA
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università di Napoli Federico II, Complesso Monte S. Angelo, Via Cintia, 80126 Napoli, Italy
| | - Deepak K Barange
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1872, USA
| | - Ravikumar R Gowda
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1872, USA
| | - Eugene Y-X Chen
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1872, USA
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43
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Clarke RW, Sandmeier T, Franklin KA, Reich D, Zhang X, Vengallur N, Patra TK, Tannenbaum RJ, Adhikari S, Kumar SK, Rovis T, Chen EYX. Dynamic crosslinking compatibilizes immiscible mixed plastics. Nature 2023; 616:731-739. [PMID: 37100943 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05858-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2023]
Abstract
The global plastics problem is a trifecta, greatly affecting environment, energy and climate1-4. Many innovative closed/open-loop plastics recycling or upcycling strategies have been proposed or developed5-16, addressing various aspects of the issues underpinning the achievement of a circular economy17-19. In this context, reusing mixed-plastics waste presents a particular challenge with no current effective closed-loop solution20. This is because such mixed plastics, especially polar/apolar polymer mixtures, are typically incompatible and phase separate, leading to materials with substantially inferior properties. To address this key barrier, here we introduce a new compatibilization strategy that installs dynamic crosslinkers into several classes of binary, ternary and postconsumer immiscible polymer mixtures in situ. Our combined experimental and modelling studies show that specifically designed classes of dynamic crosslinker can reactivate mixed-plastics chains, represented here by apolar polyolefins and polar polyesters, by compatibilizing them via dynamic formation of graft multiblock copolymers. The resulting in-situ-generated dynamic thermosets exhibit intrinsic reprocessability and enhanced tensile strength and creep resistance relative to virgin plastics. This approach avoids the need for de/reconstruction and thus potentially provides an alternative, facile route towards the recovery of the endowed energy and materials value of individual plastics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan W Clarke
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | - Kevin A Franklin
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Dominik Reich
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Xiao Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nayan Vengallur
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Center for Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage, and Center for Atomistic Modeling and Materials Design, India Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India
| | - Tarak K Patra
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Center for Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage, and Center for Atomistic Modeling and Materials Design, India Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India
| | | | - Sabin Adhikari
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sanat K Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Tomislav Rovis
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Eugene Y-X Chen
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
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44
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Xia Y, Yuan P, Zhang Y, Sun Y, Hong M. Converting Non-strained γ-Valerolactone and Derivatives into Sustainable Polythioesters via Isomerization-driven Cationic Ring-Opening Polymerization of Thionolactone Intermediate. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202217812. [PMID: 36757807 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202217812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023]
Abstract
This contribution reports the efficient conversion of γ-valerolactone and its derivatives, abundant but unexplored renewable feedstocks, into sustainable and degradable polythioesters via the establishment of the first isomerization-driven ring-opening polymerizations (IROPs) of corresponding thionolactone intermediates. The key to this success relies on the development of a new simple and robust [Et3 O]+ [B(C6 F5 )4 ]- cationic initiator which possesses high activity, exclusive selectivity, living nature, and broad scope of thionolactones. A complete inversion of configuration during IROP of enantiopure γ-thionovalerolactone is also disclosed, affording isotactic semicrystalline polythioesters (Tm =87.0 °C) with mechanical property compared well to the representative commodity polyolefins. The formation of a highly crystalline supramolecular stereocomplex with enhanced thermal property (Tm =117.6 °C) has also been revealed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongliang Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Pengjun Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Yanping Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Yangyang Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Miao Hong
- State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.,School of Chemistry and Material Sciences, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 Sub-lane Xiangshan, Hangzhou, 310024, China
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45
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Xia Y, Yue X, Sun Y, Zhang C, Zhang X. Chemically Recyclable Polyethylene-like Sulfur-Containing Plastics from Sustainable Feedstocks. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202219251. [PMID: 36737409 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202219251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The green revolution in plastics should be accelerated due to growing sustainability concerns. Here, we develop a series of chemically recyclable polymers from the first reported cascade polymerization of H2 O, COS, and diacrylates. In addition to abundant feedstocks, the method is efficient and air-tolerant, uses common organic bases as catalysts, and yields polymers with high molecular weights under mild conditions. Such polymers, structurally like polyethylene with low-density in-chain polar groups, manifest impressive toughness and ductility comparable to high-density polyethylene. The in-chain ester group acts as a breaking point, enabling these polymers to undergo chemical recycling through two loops. The structures and properties of these polymers also have an immeasurably expanded range owing to the versatility of our method. The readily available raw materials, facile synthesis, and high performance make these polymers promising prospects as sustainable materials in practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanni Xia
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
| | - Xinchen Yue
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
| | - Yue Sun
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
| | - Chengjian Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
| | - Xinghong Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China.,Center of Chemistry for Frontier Technologies, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China.,Shanxi-Zheda Institute of Advanced Materials and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou, 310027, China
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46
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Li MQ, Luo ZX, Yu XY, Tian GQ, Wu G, Chen SC, Wang YZ. Ring-Opening Polymerization of a Seven-Membered Lactone toward a Biocompatible, Degradable, and Recyclable Semi-aromatic Polyester. Macromolecules 2023. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c02172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mao-Qin Li
- The Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Friendly and Fire-Safety Polymeric Materials (MoE), National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
| | - Zi-Xuan Luo
- The Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Friendly and Fire-Safety Polymeric Materials (MoE), National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
| | - Xiao-Yan Yu
- The Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Friendly and Fire-Safety Polymeric Materials (MoE), National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
| | - Guo-Qiang Tian
- The Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Friendly and Fire-Safety Polymeric Materials (MoE), National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
| | - Gang Wu
- The Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Friendly and Fire-Safety Polymeric Materials (MoE), National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
| | - Si-Chong Chen
- The Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Friendly and Fire-Safety Polymeric Materials (MoE), National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
| | - Yu-Zhong Wang
- The Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Friendly and Fire-Safety Polymeric Materials (MoE), National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
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47
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Morado EG, Paterson ML, Ivanoff DG, Wang HC, Johnson A, Daniels D, Rizvi A, Sottos NR, Zimmerman SC. End-of-life upcycling of polyurethanes using a room temperature, mechanism-based degradation. Nat Chem 2023; 15:569-577. [PMID: 36864144 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-023-01151-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023]
Abstract
A major challenge in developing recyclable polymeric materials is the inherent conflict between the properties required during and after their life span. In particular, materials must be strong and durable when in use, but undergo complete and rapid degradation, ideally under mild conditions, as they approach the end of their life span. We report a mechanism for degrading polymers called cyclization-triggered chain cleavage (CATCH cleavage) that achieves this duality. CATCH cleavage features a simple glycerol-based acyclic acetal unit as a kinetic and thermodynamic trap for gated chain shattering. Thus, an organic acid induces transient chain breaks with oxocarbenium ion formation and subsequent intramolecular cyclization to fully depolymerize the polymer backbone at room temperature. With minimal chemical modification, the resulting degradation products from a polyurethane elastomer can be repurposed into strong adhesives and photochromic coatings, demonstrating the potential for upcycling. The CATCH cleavage strategy for low-energy input breakdown and subsequent upcycling may be generalizable to a broader range of synthetic polymers and their end-of-life waste streams.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ephraim G Morado
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Mara L Paterson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Douglas G Ivanoff
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.,Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Hsuan-Chin Wang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Alayna Johnson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Darius Daniels
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Aoon Rizvi
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Nancy R Sottos
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.,Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Steven C Zimmerman
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA. .,Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
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48
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Liu L, Tu Z, Lu Y, Wei Z. Scale Synthesis of Poly(butylene carbonate- co-terephthalate) and Its Depolymerization–Repolymerization Recycling Process. Ind Eng Chem Res 2023. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.2c04007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Lipeng Liu
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
| | - Zhu Tu
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
| | - Ying Lu
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
| | - Zhiyong Wei
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
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49
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Song Y, He J, Zhang Y, Gilsdorf RA, Chen EYX. Recyclable cyclic bio-based acrylic polymer via pairwise monomer enchainment by a trifunctional Lewis pair. Nat Chem 2023; 15:366-376. [PMID: 36443531 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-022-01097-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The existing catalyst/initiator systems and methodologies used for the synthesis of polymers can access only a few cyclic polymers composed entirely of a single monomer type, and the synthesis of such authentic cyclic polar vinyl polymers (acrylics) devoid of any foreign motifs remains a challenge. Here we report that a tethered B-P-B trifunctional, intramolecular frustrated Lewis pair catalyst enables the synthesis of an authentic cyclic acrylic polymer, cyclic poly(γ-methyl-α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone) (c-PMMBL), from the bio-based monomer MMBL. Detailed studies have revealed an initiation and propagation mechanism through pairwise monomer enchainment enabled by the cooperative and synergistic initiator/catalyst sites of the trifunctional catalyst. We propose that macrocyclic intermediates and transition states comprising two catalyst molecules are involved in the catalyst-regulated ring expansion and eventual cyclization, forming authentic c-PMMBL rings and concurrently regenerating the catalyst. The cyclic topology of the c-PMMBL polymers imparts an ~50 °C higher onset decomposition temperature and a much narrower degradation window compared with their linear counterparts of similar molecular weight and dispersity, while maintaining high chemical recyclability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanjiao Song
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China
| | - Jianghua He
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China
| | - Yuetao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
| | - Reid A Gilsdorf
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Eugene Y-X Chen
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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50
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Yue TJ, Wang LY, Ren WM, Lu XB. Regioselective Copolymerization of Epoxides and Phthalic Thioanhydride to Produce Isotacticity-Rich Semiaromatic Polythioesters. Eur Polym J 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2023.111985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/13/2023]
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