Chemical Recycling of Poly(Cyclohexene Carbonate) Using a Di-MgII Catalyst

Frances N Singer, Arron C Deacy, Thomas M McGuire, Charlotte K Williams, Antoine Buchard

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

51 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Chemical recycling of polymers to true monomers is pivotal for a circular plastics economy. Here, the first catalyzed chemical recycling of the widely investigated carbon dioxide derived polymer, poly(cyclohexene carbonate), to cyclohexene oxide and carbon dioxide is reported. The reaction requires dinuclear catalysis, with the di-MgII catalyst showing both high monomer selectivity (>98 %) and activity (TOF=150 h-1 , 0.33 mol %, 120 °C). The depolymerization occurs via a chain-end catalyzed depolymerization mechanism and DFT calculations indicate the high selectivity arises from Mg-alkoxide catalyzed epoxide extrusion being kinetically favorable compared to cyclic carbonate formation.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere202201785
JournalAngewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Volume61
Issue number26
Early online date20 Apr 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Jun 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
UK Catalysis Hub (EP/R027129/1), the EPSRC (EP/S018603/1, Fellowship to C.K.W) and the Royal Society are acknowledged for research funding (UF/160021, Fellowship to A.B.)

Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available in the Supporting Information of this article

Keywords

  • Carbon Dioxide
  • Catalysis
  • Depolymerization
  • Epoxide
  • Recycling

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • General Chemistry

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