Recyclable Nanomagnetic Fe3O4@APTES catalyst role on the Hydrolysis of Polycarbonate Wastes

In this research, the effect of (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) modified Fe3O4 (Fe3O4@APTES) core-shell nanomaterials as the recyclable heterocatalyst on the recovery of bisphenol-A (BPA) from hydrolysis of polycarbonate (PC) wastes were investigated. In the evaluated reactions, water and diethylene glycol (DEG) were used as the green solvent composition and the water as well as magnetic heterocatalyst content were optimized. By examining the results of the above-mentioned reactions, it was observed that by using 25 pbw of water and 2 pbw of magnetic heterocatalyst (both based on total waste and solvent weights), BPA achieved in 100% yield. The Fe3O4@APTES nanomaterials as the heterocatalyst can be recovered and reused up to five intervals with our significant activity losses. The resulting BPA and nanomaterials has been characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and spectroscopic methods (1H NMR, 13C NMR, FT-IR).