“Functional upcycling” of polymer waste towards the design of new materials
Olga Guselnikova, Oleg Semyonov, Elizaveta Sviridova, Roman Gulyaev, Alina Gorbunova, Dmitry Kogolev, Andrii Trelin, Yusuke Yamauchi, Rabah Boukherroub, Павел С. Постников
Abstract
), catalysts, electrode materials for energy storage and sensing, demonstrating a high added value. Importantly, the reviewed reports indicated that the specific performance of upcycled materials is generally comparable or higher than that of similar materials prepared from virgin polymer feedstock. All these advantages promote functional upcycling as a promising diversification approach against the common postprocessing methods employed for polymer waste. Finally, to identify the limitations and suggest future scope of research for each polymer, we comparatively analysed the aspects of functional upcycling with those of chemical and mechanical recycling, considering the energy and resource costs, toxicity of the used chemicals, environmental footprint, and the value added to the product.