Journal article

From polymers to rings and back again: chemical recycling of polyesters to macrolactones

Abstract:: Cyclic anhydride and epoxide ring-opening copolymerization is a versatile and controlled route to make polyesters, gaining attention in different application sectors but so far the chemical recycling of these polyesters to cyclic monomers is under-explored. Here, the catalytic chemical recycling of aliphatic polyesters to selectively form 16- and 18-membered lactones is presented. The recycling reactions are catalysed using commercial tin octoate and conducted in the polymer melt (230 °C) resulting in high conversions to the macro-lactones (>90%). The recycled macro-lactones undergo catalysed ring-opening polymerizations to produce polyesters with equivalent properties to the virgin materials.

Publication status:: Published

Peer review status:: Peer reviewed

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APA Style

Smith, M. L., McGuire, T. M., Kerr, R. W. F., & Williams, C. K. (2025). From polymers to rings and back again: chemical recycling of polyesters to macrolactones. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 64(21).

MLA Style

Smith, ML, et al. “From Polymers to Rings and Back Again: Chemical Recycling of Polyesters to Macrolactones.” Angewandte Chemie International Edition, vol. 64, no. 21, 2025.

Chicago Style

Smith, ML, TM McGuire, RWF Kerr, and CK Williams. 2025. “From Polymers to Rings and Back Again: Chemical Recycling of Polyesters to Macrolactones.” Angewandte Chemie International Edition 64 (21).
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Files:: Smith_et_al_2025_From_polymers_to.pdf

(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 940.5KB, Terms of use)

Publisher copy:: 10.1002/anie.202423478

Authors

+ Smith, ML More by this author

Institution:: University of Oxford
Division:: MPLS
Department:: Chemistry
Sub department:: Chemistry Research Laboratory
Role:: Author

+ McGuire, TM More by this author

Institution:: University of Oxford
Division:: MPLS
Department:: Chemistry
Sub department:: Chemistry Research Laboratory
Role:: Author

+ Kerr, RWF More by this author

Institution:: University of Oxford
Division:: MPLS
Department:: Chemistry
Sub department:: Chemistry Research Laboratory
Role:: Author

+ Williams, CK More by this author

Institution:: University of Oxford
Division:: MPLS
Department:: Chemistry
Sub department:: Chemistry Research Laboratory
Role:: Author

Publisher:: Wiley
Journal:: Angewandte Chemie International Edition More from this journal
Volume:: 64
Issue:: 21
Article number:: e202423478
Place of publication:: Germany
Publication date:: 2025-03-27
Acceptance date:: 2025-03-09
DOI:: 10.1002/anie.202423478
EISSN:: 1521-3773
ISSN:: 1433-7851
Pmid:: 40068018

Language:: English
Keywords:: catalysis chemical recycling

depolymerization

lactones

polyesters
Pubs id:: 2096104
Local pid:: pubs:2096104
Deposit date:: 2025-03-31
ARK identifier:: ark:/29072/ora_d54e8fbcaa9a48e99b1e02865131531a

Terms of use

Copyright holder:: Smith et al
Copyright date:: 2025
Rights statement:: © 2025 The Author(s). Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Licence:: CC Attribution (CC BY)

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