Aminolysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate) to bis(2-hydroxy ethylene)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 = 9 molar ratio, 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.