Work

Ionic liquids with multiple hydrogen bonds as metal-free catalysts for efficient hydrolysis of PET under relatively mild conditions

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Due to the strong hydrophobicity of PET, chemical catalysts usually required harsh conditions. Herein, inspired by the catalytic sites of PETase, we reported a metal-free catalyst with both high stability and activity, which could achieve almost complete hydrolysis of PET (≥99%) under relatively mild conditions (100 oC, PH≈8). Mechanistic investigations showed that hydrogen bond played the important role. With the increase of hydrogen bond multiplicity and strength, the reaction barrier decreased gradually. We believed that this work might provide a direction for the development of efficient metal-free catalysts and had great industial application prospects.

Source: Green Chemical Engineering

DOI: 10.1016/j.gce.2024.12.001