Engineering and Technology

A facile alternative strategy of upcycling mixed plastic waste into vitrimers

K. W. J. Ng, J. S. K. Lim, et al.

This groundbreaking research showcases the upcycling of mixed plastic waste into reprocessable vitrimers, paving the way for sustainable materials. Conducted by a team from Nanyang Technological University, the study explores innovative methods using glycerol to create strong, reprocessable composites from polyester, polyamide, and polyurethane waste.

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Index

Abstract

This work demonstrates upcycling mixed plastic waste (polyester, polyamide, polyurethane) into reprocessable vitrimers. Partial, controlled depolymerization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), using glycerol as a cleaving agent, yields branched PET oligomers. These oligomers, despite a wide molecular weight distribution, are used to produce a crosslinked, yet reprocessable vitrimer (vRPET) via solventless melt processing. Rheology and dynamic mechanical analysis confirm crosslinking and dynamic interactions, while tensile studies show minimal strength loss over multiple processing cycles. The method is applicable to mixed plastic waste, creating strong, reprocessable composites suitable for cyclical use.

Publisher

Communications Chemistry

Published On

Jul 27, 2023

Authors

Kok Wei Joseph Ng, Jacob Song Kiat Lim, Nupur Gupta, Bing Xue Dong, Chun-Po Hu, Jingdan Hu, Xiao Matthew Hu

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