Better Material Properties and Faster Catalyzed Chemical Recycling for Poly( L ‐Lactide) Using a Simple Commercial Glycerol Ethoxylate Additive

Journal article

Poly(L‐lactide) (PLLA) is the largest volume commercial bio‐derived plastic, but its brittleness and end‐of‐life recycling remain challenges. Here, glycerol ethoxylate (GEO), a branched ethylene glycol derivative, both toughens commercial PLLA and accelerates its catalyzed chemical recycling to L‐lactide. A series of GEO–PLLA blends, containing 2–20 wt.% GEO, show significantly improved ductility and toughening compared to pure PLLA. The lead 10 wt.% GEO–PLLA sample achieves 9x higher elongation at break (191% ± 4%) and 6x higher tensile toughness (57.9 ± 1.9 MJ m−3), while retaining desirable tensile strength (36.3 ± 1.5 MPa), thermal properties (Tg = 39°C and Tm = 149°C) and crystallinity (25%). The GEO–PLLA samples are efficiently chemically recycled to L‐lactide, showing both high recycling activity (TOF = 2240 ± 73 h−1) and quantitative selectivity for L‐lactide (> 99%). The recycling is performed neat, at 180°C, using low loadings of commercial Sn(II)Oct2 catalyst. The 10 wt.% GEO–PLLA sample shows significantly faster chemical recycling than PLLA, with kobs = 22.9 ± 0.8 h−1 versus kobs = 1.8 ± 0.2 h−1 for PLLA. This recycling process is successful even with contamination from other commercial plastics, demonstrating its applicability to future postconsumer waste streams.

Authors: Smith, ML; McGuire, TM; Poon, KC; Craze, AR; Williams, CK

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Wiley
• Journal: Chemistry - A European Journal
• Pages: e00008
• Article number: e00008
• Publication date: 2026-03-09
• Acceptance date: 2026-02-18
• DOI: 10.1002/chem.202600008
• EISSN: 1521-3765
• ISSN: 0947-6539
• Language: English
• Keywords: depolymerization; poly(L‐lactide) (PLLA); ethylene glycol; chemical recycling; Sn(II) catalysis; glycerol ethoxylate