A general strategy for recycling polyester wastes into carboxylic acids and hydrocarbons
Wei Zeng, Yanfei Zhao, Fengtao Zhang, Rongxiang Li, Minhao Tang, Xiaoqian Chang, Ying Wang, Fengtian Wu, Buxing Han, Zhimin Liu
Abstract
Abstract Chemical recycling of plastic wastes is of great significance for sustainable development, which also represents a largely untapped opportunity for the synthesis of value-added chemicals. Herein, we report a novel and general strategy to degrade polyesters via directly breaking the C alkoxy -O bond by nucleophilic substitution of halide anion of ionic liquids under mild conditions. Combined with hydrogenation over Pd/C, 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium bromide can realize the deconstruction of various polyesters including aromatic and aliphatic ones, copolyesters and polyester mixtures into corresponding carboxylic acids and alkanes; meanwhile, tetrabutylphosphonium bromide can also achieve direct decomposition of the polyesters with β -H into carboxylic acids and alkenes under hydrogen- and metal-free conditions. It is found that the hydrogen-bonding interaction between ionic liquid and ester group in polyester enhances the nucleophilicity of halide anion and activates the C alkoxy -O bond. The findings demonstrate how polyester wastes can be a viable feedstock for the production of carboxylic acids and hydrocarbons.