(Invited); Monomer Manufacturing Through the Reductive Valorization of Ester-Based Polymers Enabled by Electrogenerated Reactive Intermediates
Journal Article
Overview
abstract
Polyesters are essential materials, yet their production depends on petrochemical feedstocks, creating a need for sustainable routes to regenerate their monomers. Chemical depolymerization offers one such pathway, but conventional solvolysis, pyrolysis, and gasification typically require high temperatures or energetic reagents and often yield monomer derivatives rather than the original building blocks. Electrochemical strategies provide a selective, energy-efficient alternative by using electrons potentially from renewable sources to drive controlled bond cleavage.; This work describes two electrochemical approaches designed to produce monomers directly from ester-based plastics. The first employs a benzimidazolium-derived redox mediator that forms a strongly reducing radical capable of activating polyethylene terephthalate (PET), yielding terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol in high efficiency. The second generates superoxide through the electrochemical reduction of atmospheric oxygen, enabling room-temperature depolymerization of PET, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), and polylactic acid (PLA) into their constituent monomers. Together, these methods highlight the potential of organic electrochemistry for sustainable monomer manufacturing.
