Chemical recycling to monomers: Industrial Bisphenol‐A‐Polycarbonates to novel aliphatic polycarbonate materials

Abstract

The extensive use of commodity polymer materials has led to the depletion of natural resources and caused the undesirable problem of plastic pollution. In this context, the design of novel polymeric structures with unique recyclability characteristics from renewable resources and the recycling of real-life plastic wastes are critical to address the problems associated with the increasing demand for plastics. Chemical degradation of wastes through polymerizationdepolymerization followed by re-polymerization has already emerged as a long-term strategy toward the attainment of completely sustainable cycles. Bisphenol-A-polycarbonates (BPA-PC) exhibit high thermal resistance, excellent mechanical properties, and high optical transparency, which make them suitable materials for commodity and engineering plastics. This review presents our vision for realizing a circular polymer economy for polycarbonate materials-from the chemical recycling of widely used BPA-PCs to the novel aliphatic polycarbonates from renewable resources.

Highly Selective Preparation and Depolymerization of Chemically Recyclable Poly(cyclopentene carbonate) Enabled by Organoboron Catalysts

“…[6] The main limitations include accessibility of monomers, scalability of (de)polymerization catalysts, selectivity and efficiency for monomer recovery, and operability of the recycling process. [7] Based on these considerations, to advance the design or development of a competitive and promising recyclable polymer, we dedicated to prepare a recyclable polymer that can meet the following criteria: (1) Commercially available monomers with mass production ability are preferred than the de novo designed and synthesized ones, even though the synthetic process for these carefully-designed monomers is extremely simple. [5d] (2) The catalysts for the polymerization and depolymerization processes should be ease of synthesis, costeffectiveness, and high selectivity.…”

Recent Advances in Monomer Design for Recyclable Polymers

“…而烷氧链 端的回咬存在两种方式, 进攻羰基得到反式环状碳酸酯 和进攻次甲基得到环氧烷烃和 CO 2 . 环氧烷烃并环结 构、取代基和杂原子引入都会显著影响三种降解产物的 分布, 从而表现不同的循环行为 [101][102][103] . [94,104] .…”

Organocatalytic depolymerization of poly(trimethylene carbonate)

“…Along with poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), BPA-PC has recently drawn attention as a recyclable and upcyclable polymer. 2,4,5 Poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC), a representative aliphatic polycarbonate, has been clinically applied in sutures and drug delivery owing to its biodegradability and absorbability. 3,6 Recent progress in catalysis has enabled more accessible PTMC production and increasing development of PTMC analogs with functional side chains for applications in biomedical devices.…”

“…1,9 Thus, catalytic depolymerization could play a more significant role in the recycling and upcycling of PTMC analogs, as has been explored for BPA-PC and PET. 2,4,5,16,17 These catalytic depolymerizations occur in a shorter time range ($hours) than in vivo degradation and enzymatic degradation ($days and weeks).…”