Advances, Challenges, and Opportunities of Poly(γ-butyrolactone)-Based Recyclable Polymers

Abstract

The discovery and prosperous growth of synthetic polymers have presented both significant advantages and daunting challenges in the last century. To address the issues of environmental pollution and fossil consumption, recyclable, degradable, and/or biobased polymers have been given much attention in the polymer science community. This viewpoint focuses on the emerging fully chemical recyclable poly­(γ-butyrolactone)-based polymers. The breakthrough from nonpolymerizable to efficient polymerization is highlighted by the benefits of the development of a series of catalysis for ring-opening polymerization of γ-butyrolactone. Subsequently, the design of γ-butyrolactone derivatives and synthesis of more recyclable polymers are summarized together with the discussions about the structure and property relationship. Finally, the remaining challenges and promising opportunities are suggested in order to provide insights into the further direction for sustainable polymers.

Terpolymerization of CO2 with Epoxides and Cyclic Organic Anhydrides or Cyclic Esters

“…The synthesis of polyester-co-polycarbonate was also attempted by the terpolymerization of CO 2 with epoxides and cyclic esters combining the ROCOP and ROP mechanisms [38]. This approach gives access to microstructures not accessible via ROCOP with organic anhydrides and has the advantage of using largely available monomers ε-caprolactone (CL), DL-lactide (LA) and β-butyrolactone (BBL) [14,16,36,[38][39][40].…”

Chemically recyclable polymer materials: polymerization and depolymerization cycles

“…γ-Butyrolactone (GBL), derived from biorenewable succinic acid, is commonly regarded as a "nonpolymerizable" monomer to synthesize chemical recyclable poly(γ-butyrolactone) (PGBL) before 2016. [126][127][128] To overcome the unfavourable thermodynamics in the ROP of GBL, decreasing the reaction temperature and increasing the monomer concentration are the best choice as reported by Hong and Chen (Scheme 13). 129 A ROP reaction was successfully carried out under the metal catalyst La[N(SiMe 3 ) 2 ] 3 at −40 °C and at an initial GBL concentration of 10 mol L −1 , and a maximum conversion of 67% was achieved.…”

Advancing the Development of Recyclable Aromatic Polyesters by Functionalization and Stereocomplexation

“…The development of sustainable materials has served as a promising solution to the growing plastic waste problem. Chemical recycling to monomers represents an attractive strategy for circular polymer economy [6–14] . Ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) provides the foundation for chemically recycling to monomers of the producing polymers via ring‐close depolymerization [6] .…”

“…Chemical recycling to monomers represents an attractive strategy for circular polymer economy. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Ringopening polymerization (ROP) provides the foundation for chemically recycling to monomers of the producing polymers via ring-close depolymerization. [6] In addition, ROP of cyclic monomers has been shown to synthesize polymers with high-level control of microstructure and desired properties.…”