Solvent‐Free Heterogeneous Catalytic Hydrogenation of Polyesters to Diols
Rongli Mi, Lingzhen Zeng, Maolin Wang, Maolin Wang, Shuheng Tian, Jie Yan, Shixiang Yu, Meng Wang, Meng Wang, Ding Ma
Abstract
Abstract The utilization of carbon resources stored in plastic polymers through chemical recycling and upcycling is a promising approach for mitigating plastic waste. However, most current methods for upcycling suffer from limited selectivity towards a specific valuable product, particularly when attempting full conversion of the plastic. We present a highly selective reaction route for transforming polylactic acid (PLA) into 1,2‐propanediol utilizing a Zn‐modified Cu catalyst. This reaction exhibits excellent reactivity (0.65 g g cat −1 h −1 ) and selectivity (99.5 %) towards 1,2‐propanediol, and most importantly, can be performed in a solvent‐free mode. Significantly, the overall solvent‐free reaction is an atom‐economical reaction with all the atoms in reactants (PLA and H 2 ) fixed into the final product (1,2‐propanediol), eliminating the need for a separation process. This method provides an innovative and economically viable solution for upgrading polyesters to produce high‐purity products under mild conditions with optimal atom utilization.