Aminolysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate) to bis(2-hydroxyethyl)terephthalamide with ethanolamine catalyzed by La(OAc)3

Abstract

Chemical recycling of PET waste is critically important for environmental preservation and resource conservation. While aminolysis of PET with ethanolamine to produce bis(2-hydroxyethyl)terephthalamide (BHETA) represents a promising approach, achieving efficient depolymerization under mild conditions remains challenging. This study addresses this limitation through development of a simple, inexpensive lanthanide catalyst La(OAc)₃. Under optimized conditions (PET/EA = 1 : 9, 0.5 wt% catalyst loading, 160 °C, 1 h), La(OAc)₃ demonstrated high activity with BHETA yields exceeding 90%. The catalyst exhibits broad applicability in polyester depolymerization with excellent selectivity, establishing lanthanide catalysis as a viable platform for chemical plastic recycling.