The global market for polycarbonate (PC) increases steadily
because
of its heat resistance, toughness, and optical transparency. To achieve
sustainability, the waste polycarbonate (WPC) should be recycled.
This work reports a 100% atom-efficiency upcycling of WPC to a WPC-derived
aldehyde (WPC-CHO). Then, poly(carbonate imine) vitrimers (PCIs) based
on the WPC-CHO and two aromatic diamines were prepared. Generally,
polyimines can cleave in mild acidic conditions such as 0.1 M HCl(aq) and seldom show good thermal and tensile properties. The
PCIs in this work showed good thermal and tensile properties and an
unprecedented resistance toward acid hydrolysis. They can survive
even immersing in a 5 M H2SO4 THF/H2O solution for 6 months. This unusual resistance toward acid hydrolysis
expands the application of PCIs in an acidic environment. Small pieces
of PCIs can be compression-molded into a newly formed polymer film
at 240 °C. This thermal reprocessability demonstrates the vitrimer
characteristic of the PCIs. The PCIs can be degraded through simultaneous
aminolysis of carbonate and transimination of imine by hexylamine
(HA) in a catalyst-free mild condition. Based on the aminolysis and
transimination, we degraded the cross-linking network in the PCI-based
carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) and recovered undamaged carbon
fiber. This environmentally friendly work will attract the attention
of researchers who are interested in sustainability and circularity.