Recent Advances in Monomer Design for Recyclable Polymers

Abstract

The development of modern society highly depends on polymer materials. However, progressive usage and accumulation of polymer products caused the waste of resources and severe environmental issues. To address the abovementioned problem, the development of chemical recycling polymers that could transform the polymers back to monomers and repolymerize to produce polymer materials without value loss is an attractive and important strategy. In recent years, significant advances in the design of "ideal monomers" have enabled the regulation of "polymerization−depolymerization" equilibrium and achieved the closed-loop recycling under mild conditions. This review will focus on the closed-loop recycling of polyesters, polycarbonates, sulfur-containing polymers, and poly(cyclic olefin)s, illustrate the challenges of this field, and provide a perspective on the future development direction.

cis-Fused cyclohexane promoted the chemical recycling of polycarbonate to monomer

“…[1][2][3][4] The strategy of chemical recycling to monomer via depolymerization to pristine monomers and repolymerization without loss in properties represents a circular polymer economy with closed-loop life cycle. [5][6][7][8][9][10] This ideal recycling concept has propelled the synthesis of thousands of new polymer structures for fundamental studies and potential practical applications. Recent advancements in monomer design have demonstrated various polymer systems, including polyesters, polyacetals, polycarbonates, and others suitable for closed-loop chemical recycling via ring-opening polymerization (ROP) and ring-closing depolymerization (RCD).…”

Leveraging the monomer structure for high-performance chemically recyclable semiaromatic polyesters

“…1–3 Extensive research focused on chemical recycling of polymers to monomers (CRM) has been devoted to enabling a circular plastics economy and sustainable development. 4–35 In a pioneering work, poly (γ-butyrolactone) from the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of “non-polymerizable” butyrolactone was discovered to quantitatively depolymerize into its monomer γ-butyrolactone upon being heated at 220–300 °C for one hour, 4,36 manifesting the potential of its chemical recycling in the circular plastics economy and promoting the development of this field. However, most of the currently studied polymer systems have involved aliphatic polyesters 37–48 and chemically recyclable aromatic polyesters have been less extensively investigated.…”

Fully Bio‐based Poly(ketal‐ester)s by Ring‐opening Polymerization of a Bicylcic Lactone from Glycerol and Levulinic Acid

“…Degradable polymers from renewable resources have been attracting much attention in polymer science because of the concerned long-term short supply of fossil resources and the environmental problems caused by the increased consumption of non-degradable polymers. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] In this context, raw materials from renewable resources, such as plant oils, carbohydrates, lignin, terpenes, amino acids, and rosins, have been widely investigated as building blocks for polymers. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] In particular, polyesters derived from naturally occurring precursors have been developed as perspective degradable biomaterials and bioplastics owing to their potential biodegradability and good biocompatibility.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] In this context, raw materials from renewable resources, such as plant oils, carbohydrates, lignin, terpenes, amino acids, and rosins, have been widely investigated as building blocks for polymers. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] In particular, polyesters derived from naturally occurring precursors have been developed as perspective degradable biomaterials and bioplastics owing to their potential biodegradability and good biocompatibility. [21][22][23][24][25][26] For instance, polylactic acid (PLA), one of the most widely investigated bio-based and biodegradable polyester, has been widely used as packing materials, extracellular matrix for tissue engineering, and carriers in drug delivery.…”