The use of 1,3-dimethylimidazolium-2-carboxylate as an organocatalyst for the glycolysis of waste PET, poly(ethylene terephthalate), is reported for the first time. Post-consumer PET was completely depolymerised in less than 1 h at 180 • C with up to 60% of bis(2-hydroxyethyl terephthalate) (BHET) was recovered by precipitation after cooling of the reaction mixture. Under comparable conditions the basic ionic liquid, 1,3-dimethylimidazolium acetate, was a significantly less effective catalyst suggesting that catalysis occurs through formation of a nucleophilic N-heterocyclic carbene.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.