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Related Concept Videos

Types of Step-Growth Polymers: Polyesters01:20

Types of Step-Growth Polymers: Polyesters

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The introduction of polyesters has brought major development to the textile industry. The wrinkle-free behavior of polyester blends has eliminated the need for starching and ironing clothes.
Polyesters are commonly prepared from terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol; the crude product is known as poly(ethylene terephthalate) or PET. However, polyesters are synthesized industrially by transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol at 150 °C. The two reactants and the...
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Free-Radical Chain Reaction and Polymerization of Alkenes02:35

Free-Radical Chain Reaction and Polymerization of Alkenes

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The conversion of alkenes to macromolecules called polymers is a reaction of high commercial importance. The structure of the polymer is defined by a repeating unit, while the terminal groups are considered insignificant. The average degree of polymerization represents the number of repeating units in the polymer molecule and is denoted by the subscript n.
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Hydrolysis01:15

Hydrolysis

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Overview
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction in which the addition of water breaks down a polymer into its simpler monomer units. For example, peptides break into amino acids, carbohydrates into simple sugars, and DNA into nucleotides. Enzymes often facilitate these processes.
Hydrolysis Reverses Dehydration Synthesis
Complex carbohydrates can be broken down by breaking the bonds between individual sugar units. The reaction breaks a glycosidic bond as water is added to the compound. The...
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Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Overview01:13

Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Overview

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Recently, the development of olefin metathesis polymerization advanced the field of polymer synthesis. Simply put, the reorganization of substituents on their double bonds between two olefins in the presence of a catalyst is known as the olefin metathesis reaction. The use of metathesis reaction for polymer synthesis is called olefin metathesis polymerization.
Ruthenium-based Grubbs catalyst is the most commonly used catalyst for olefin metathesis polymerization. Grubbs catalyst consists...
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Esters to Carboxylic Acids: Acid-Catalyzed Hydrolysis01:13

Esters to Carboxylic Acids: Acid-Catalyzed Hydrolysis

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Hydrolysis of esters under acidic conditions proceeds through a nucleophilic acyl substitution. In the presence of excess water, the reaction proceeds in a reversible manner, forming carboxylic acids and alcohols.
During hydrolysis, the ester is first activated towards nucleophilic attack through the protonation of the carboxyl oxygen atom by the acid catalyst. The protonation makes the ester carbonyl carbon more electrophilic. In the next step, water acts as a nucleophile and adds to the...
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Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Acyclic Diene Metathesis (ADMET)00:53

Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Acyclic Diene Metathesis (ADMET)

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Acyclic diene metathesis polymerization or ADMET polymerization involves cross-metathesis of terminal dienes, such as 1,8-nonadiene, to give linear unsaturated polymer and ethylene. As ADMET is a reversible process, the formed ethylene gas must be removed from the reaction mixture to complete the polymerization process.
Similar to cross-metathesis, ADMET also involves the formation of metallacyclobutane intermediate by [2+2] cycloaddition of one of the double bonds of a terminal diene with...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 22, 2025

Depolymerizable Olefinic Polymers Based on Fused-Ring Cyclooctene Monomers
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Depolymerizable Olefinic Polymers Based on Fused-Ring Cyclooctene Monomers

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Efficient Depolymerization of Poly(ethylene 2,5-furanoate) Using Polyester Hydrolases.

Virender Kumar1, Alessandro Pellis2, Reinhard Wimmer1

  • 1Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark.

ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
|July 5, 2024
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Enzymes efficiently depolymerized poly(ethylene 2,5-furanoate) (PEF), a biobased plastic, achieving near-complete breakdown. Leaf compost-cutinase (LCC) outperformed FastPETase, showing promise for PEF recycling.

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Fabricating Degradable Thermoresponsive Hydrogels on Multiple Length Scales via Reactive Extrusion, Microfluidics, Self-assembly, and Electrospinning
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Designed for Molecular Recycling: A Lignin-Derived Semi-aromatic Biobased Polymer
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Designed for Molecular Recycling: A Lignin-Derived Semi-aromatic Biobased Polymer
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Designed for Molecular Recycling: A Lignin-Derived Semi-aromatic Biobased Polymer

Published on: November 30, 2020

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Area of Science:

  • Biopolymer science
  • Enzymatic catalysis
  • Sustainable materials

Background:

  • Poly(ethylene 2,5-furanoate) (PEF) is a promising biobased alternative to PET, offering environmental benefits.
  • Limited information exists on PEF's recyclability, crucial for its industrial adoption.
  • Enzymatic depolymerization is a potential sustainable recycling pathway for polyesters.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the enzymatic depolymerization of PEF using PET hydrolases.
  • To evaluate the efficiency of FastPETase and leaf compost-cutinase (LCC) for PEF breakdown.
  • To understand the influence of PEF crystallinity on enzymatic hydrolysis.

Main Methods:

  • Depolymerization of PEF films using FastPETase and LCC at reduced enzyme loadings.
  • Optimization of reaction conditions (temperature, buffer) for maximum depolymerization.
  • Analysis of depolymerization extent via weight loss and quantification of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) production.
  • Microscopy studies to assess surface erosion and the impact of crystallinity.

Main Results:

  • Near-complete depolymerization of PEF achieved with LCC (98% weight loss) and FastPETase (up to 92% weight loss) under optimized conditions.
  • LCC demonstrated superior performance over FastPETase in both FDCA release and weight loss.
  • Crystallinity significantly hindered enzymatic hydrolysis, with only 4-7% weight loss observed for crystalline PEF.
  • Main products identified as FDCA, ethylene glycol, and mono(2-hydroxyethyl)-furanoate.

Conclusions:

  • FastPETase and LCC are effective enzymes for the depolymerization of PEF, even at significantly lower loadings.
  • LCC shows higher efficiency for PEF enzymatic hydrolysis compared to FastPETase.
  • PEF crystallinity presents a challenge for enzymatic recycling, requiring further investigation.
  • This study provides critical insights for developing viable enzymatic recycling processes for biobased PEF.