Efficient chemical recycling of poly(L-lactic acid) via either alcoholysis to alkyl lactate or thermal depolymerization to L-lactide promoted by Zn(II) catalysts
Poly(lactic acid) (PLA), a commercially fully bio-based and biodegradable polymer, stands out as a sustainable alternative to commodity plastics. Its current end-of-life management involves composting, but chemical recycling would be more appropriate for a circular economy model. Here we report two...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Polymer Testing |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142941825000418 |
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| author | Maria Gentile Licia Gaeta Stefano Brenna Claudio Pellecchia |
| author_facet | Maria Gentile Licia Gaeta Stefano Brenna Claudio Pellecchia |
| author_sort | Maria Gentile |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Poly(lactic acid) (PLA), a commercially fully bio-based and biodegradable polymer, stands out as a sustainable alternative to commodity plastics. Its current end-of-life management involves composting, but chemical recycling would be more appropriate for a circular economy model. Here we report two very efficient chemical recycling pathways for commercial high molar mass and highly crystalline PLA samples, both ones promoted by different imidazole[1,5-a]pyrid-3-yl)phenolate Zn(II) catalysts: (i) alcoholysis was easily achieved by simply treating the polymer samples in boiling methanol in the presence of 1 % Zn(II) catalyst, resulting in up to 99 % yield and selectivity in methyl lactate; and (ii) chemical recycling to the monomer was achieved by heating the polymer samples at 180 °C under vacuum or in a nitrogen flow in the presence of 0.1 % Zn(II) catalyst and a highly boiling alcohol, resulting in up to 99 % yield of L-lactide, having high chemical and steric purity, which could be repolymerized without any further purification. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7e935de29f9444999da724ddc6d2be8d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1873-2348 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymer Testing |
| spelling | doaj-art-7e935de29f9444999da724ddc6d2be8d2025-02-11T04:33:29ZengElsevierPolymer Testing1873-23482025-02-01143108727Efficient chemical recycling of poly(L-lactic acid) via either alcoholysis to alkyl lactate or thermal depolymerization to L-lactide promoted by Zn(II) catalystsMaria Gentile0Licia Gaeta1Stefano Brenna2Claudio Pellecchia3Dipartimento di Chimica e Biologia “A. Zambelli”, Università degli Studi di Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084, Fisciano, SA, Italy; Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Università di Padova, via Gradenigo, 6/a, Padova, PD, 35131, ItalyDipartimento di Chimica e Biologia “A. Zambelli”, Università degli Studi di Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084, Fisciano, SA, Italy; Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Università di Padova, via Gradenigo, 6/a, Padova, PD, 35131, ItalyDipartimento di Scienza e Alta Tecnologia, Università degli Studi dell’Insubria, via Valleggio 11, 22100, Como, ItalyDipartimento di Chimica e Biologia “A. Zambelli”, Università degli Studi di Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084, Fisciano, SA, Italy; Corresponding author.Poly(lactic acid) (PLA), a commercially fully bio-based and biodegradable polymer, stands out as a sustainable alternative to commodity plastics. Its current end-of-life management involves composting, but chemical recycling would be more appropriate for a circular economy model. Here we report two very efficient chemical recycling pathways for commercial high molar mass and highly crystalline PLA samples, both ones promoted by different imidazole[1,5-a]pyrid-3-yl)phenolate Zn(II) catalysts: (i) alcoholysis was easily achieved by simply treating the polymer samples in boiling methanol in the presence of 1 % Zn(II) catalyst, resulting in up to 99 % yield and selectivity in methyl lactate; and (ii) chemical recycling to the monomer was achieved by heating the polymer samples at 180 °C under vacuum or in a nitrogen flow in the presence of 0.1 % Zn(II) catalyst and a highly boiling alcohol, resulting in up to 99 % yield of L-lactide, having high chemical and steric purity, which could be repolymerized without any further purification.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142941825000418 |
| spellingShingle | Maria Gentile Licia Gaeta Stefano Brenna Claudio Pellecchia Efficient chemical recycling of poly(L-lactic acid) via either alcoholysis to alkyl lactate or thermal depolymerization to L-lactide promoted by Zn(II) catalysts Polymer Testing |
| title | Efficient chemical recycling of poly(L-lactic acid) via either alcoholysis to alkyl lactate or thermal depolymerization to L-lactide promoted by Zn(II) catalysts |
| title_full | Efficient chemical recycling of poly(L-lactic acid) via either alcoholysis to alkyl lactate or thermal depolymerization to L-lactide promoted by Zn(II) catalysts |
| title_fullStr | Efficient chemical recycling of poly(L-lactic acid) via either alcoholysis to alkyl lactate or thermal depolymerization to L-lactide promoted by Zn(II) catalysts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Efficient chemical recycling of poly(L-lactic acid) via either alcoholysis to alkyl lactate or thermal depolymerization to L-lactide promoted by Zn(II) catalysts |
| title_short | Efficient chemical recycling of poly(L-lactic acid) via either alcoholysis to alkyl lactate or thermal depolymerization to L-lactide promoted by Zn(II) catalysts |
| title_sort | efficient chemical recycling of poly l lactic acid via either alcoholysis to alkyl lactate or thermal depolymerization to l lactide promoted by zn ii catalysts |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142941825000418 |
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