Functionalizable and Chemically Recyclable Thermoplastics from Chemoselective Ring-Opening Polymerization of Bio-renewable Bifunctional α-Methylene-δ-valerolactone
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Updated: Sep 20, 2025

Depolymerizable Olefinic Polymers Based on Fused-Ring Cyclooctene Monomers
Published on: December 16, 2022
Jiandong Li1, Fusheng Liu1, Yalei Liu1
1State Key Laboratory Base of Eco-Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266042, China.
Abstract:
It is a highly attractive strategy to develop chemically recyclable polymers to establish a circular plastic economy. Despite the recent advancements, chemically recyclable polymers still face challenges including high energy cost for polymer preparation or recycling, poor monomer recovery selectivity and efficiency as well as undesired material performance. In this contribution, we present the chemoselective controlled ring-opening polymerization of bio-renewable bifunctional α-methylene-δ-valerolactone (MVL) to produce exclusive functionalizable polyester using strong base/urea binary catalysts. The obtained polyester with high molar mass exhibits good tensile strength comparable to that of some commodity plastics. Remarkably, the obtained polyester can be depolymerized to recover pristine monomer with a 96 % yield by thermolysis, thus successfully establishing a closed-loop life cycle.
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