The carbonate exchange reaction strategy for chemical recycling of poly(bisphenol A carbonate) into an epoxy-curing agent

Abstract

Using chemical methods to depolymerize or convert plastic materials for recycling is a useful process to achieve a sustainable and circular plastic economy. Herein, different from conventional chemical methodologies to convert waste plastics into monomers or high value-added chemicals, a “waste polymer to precursor of polymer to new polymer” protocol was proposed. For the chemical recycling of poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (BPA-PC), a novel carbonate exchange strategy was explored, in which BPA-PC was depolymerized into “DPC-PC” via a diphenyl carbonate (DPC)-mediated carbonate exchange reaction. The unique structure of DPC-PC enables it to serve as a curing agent for preparing high-performance and recyclable epoxy thermosets, thus blazing a new trail for the chemical recycling of BPA-PC.