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Ion-pair cooperativity in common neutral salts promotes methanolysis of ester-containing plastics

Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: hydrogen bonding, disrupting its hydrogen-bond network and activating the nucleophile. Extending this concept to various neutral salts establishes a clear structure-activity relationship governed by cation-mediated substrate activation and anion-mediated methanol activation. Notably, naturally occurring salts also show comparable activity, and the strategy is applicable to representative ester-containing plastics including polycarbonate (PC), polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). These results identify ion-pair cooperativity as a possible mechanism for polymer depolymerization and provide a feasible strategy for plastic chemical recycling.
DOI: 10.1039/d6sc04874a
Authors: Yushuang Huang, Junjian Xie, Jiawei Xie, Yisong Zhou, Yuan Lei, Tinghao Jia, Jinjin Li, Chang-An Zhou, Chao Wang, Lei Song, Kui Ma, Hairong Yue, Ji-Jun Zou
Institutions: Sichuan University, Chengdu University of Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Zhejiang University, PetroChina Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company (China), Research Institute of Natural Gas Technology, Tianjin University
Language: English
Subfield: Biomaterials
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7213242661
FWCI:
Cites: 61
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Related to: 10