Selective and Sequential Catalytic Chemical Depolymerization and Upcycling of Mixed Plastics

Chemical recycling to monomer (CRM) provides a useful technique to allow for polymer-to-monomer-to-polymer circular economies. A significant challenge remains, however, in the treatment of mixed plastics by CRM in which unselective depolymerization requires either presorting of plastics or purification processes postdepolymerization, both of which add cost to waste plastic processing. We report a simple, yet selective, chemical depolymerization of three commonly used polymers, poly(lactic acid) (PLA), bisphenol A polycarbonate (BPA-PC), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), using inexpensive and readily available common metal salt/organobase dual catalysts. By a judicious choice of catalyst and conditions, selective and sequential depolymerization of mixtures of the polymers was demonstrated. Furthermore, the potential for upcycling of polymers to value-added monomers was explored through the application of alternative nucleophiles within the depolymerization.