Issue 3, 2023

Light-accelerated depolymerization catalyzed by Eosin Y

Abstract

Retrieving the starting monomers from polymers synthesized by reversible deactivation radical polymerization has recently emerged as an efficient way to increase the recyclability of such materials and potentially enable their industrial implementation. To date, most methods have primarily focused on utilizing high temperatures (typically from 120 °C to 180 °C) to trigger an efficient depolymerization reaction. In this work, we show that, in the presence of Eosin Y under light irradiation, a much faster depolymerization of polymers made by reversible addition–fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization can be triggered even at a lower temperature (i.e. 100 °C). For instance, green light, in conjunction with ppm amounts of Eosin Y, resulted in the accelerated depolymerization of poly(methyl methacrylate) from 16% (thermal depolymerization at 100 °C) to 37% within 1 hour, and finally 80% depolymerization after 8 hours, as confirmed by both 1H-NMR and SEC analyses. The enhanced depolymerization rate was attributed to the activation of a macroCTA by Eosin Y, thus resulting in a faster macroradical generation. Notably, this method was found to be compatible with different wavelengths (e.g. blue, red and white light irradiation), solvents, and RAFT agents, thus highlighting the potential of light to significantly improve current depolymerization approaches.

Graphical abstract: Light-accelerated depolymerization catalyzed by Eosin Y

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
02 Nov 2022
Accepted
13 Dec 2022
First published
20 Dec 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Polym. Chem., 2023,14, 253-258

Light-accelerated depolymerization catalyzed by Eosin Y

V. Bellotti, K. Parkatzidis, H. S. Wang, N. De Alwis Watuthanthrige, M. Orfano, A. Monguzzi, N. P. Truong, R. Simonutti and A. Anastasaki, Polym. Chem., 2023, 14, 253 DOI: 10.1039/D2PY01383E

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