Solvent-promoted catalyst-free aminolytic degradation for chemical recycling of single and mixed plastic wastes

Abstract

The large-scale production of commodity plastics with poor degradability presents significant environmental and human health challenges. Instead of relying on landfilling or mechanical recycling, chemical recycling of plastic waste provides an effective strategy to alleviate environmental pollution while transforming “trash” into “treasure”. Pioneering studies have demonstrated the effective depolymerization of polyester- and polycarbonate-based materials using nucleophiles. However, this process often requires catalysts, elevated temperatures, or high nucleophile-to-polymer ratios, posing obstacles to the development of chemical recycling for industrialized applications. To address these limitations, we propose a solvent-promoted catalyst-free strategy for the aminolysis of post-consumer polyester- and polycarbonate-based waste. Certain polar aprotic solvents stand out among commonly used organic solvents due to their ability to effectively promote aminolytic degradation under catalyst-free conditions. By leveraging these selected solvents, the aminolysis process can be carried out efficiently under mild conditions. This work provides a simple and versatile method for recycling single and mixed post-consumer plastic wastes into the corresponding monomers.