Controlling PET oligomers vs monomers via microwave-induced heating and swelling

The production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and fibers, and their subsequent mismanagement, have created an urgent need to develop strategies to handle the resulting waste. Here, glycolysis of PET using manganese oxide catalysts under microwave-assisted heating is demonstrated to form oligomers and the monomer bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) at moderate conditions. Higher surface area catalysts achieve faster overall rates of depolymerization to the monomer. Oligomers form homogeneously and depolymerize to monomers over manganese oxide. The polymer-to-solvent ratio and reaction temperature affect the overall oligomer yield. The swelling of PET, caused by the diffusion of ethylene glycol into the polymer matrix, causes the dissolution of the PET to form oligomers. Oligomers are characterized and show similar physical properties to the starting PET despite having 1/20th of the molecular weight.