Recyclable Inorganic Subnanowire Plastics

The recycling and reuse of plastics have become pressing global issues due to the severe environmental impact of white pollution. Developing plastic materials that can achieve highly selective recycling through environmentally friendly and energy-saving methods is urgent. Herein, a new class of dynamically cross-linked inorganic subnanowire (SNW) plastics is developed, which can be efficiently recycled through simple redispersion and hot-pressing processes, without the need for complex conditions, catalysts, or pollutant-generating acid or alkaline solutions. The typical SNW₁ plastic demonstrates high mechanical properties, with a tensile strength of 30.55 MPa and a Young's modulus of 1.46 GPa, surpassing most recyclable plastics with dynamic bonds. Through this universal strategy, multiple types of SNW plastics with excellent mechanical performance, recyclability, good processability, multiple functions, quantity production, and cost efficiency can be prepared successfully. This study provides a new design idea for developing recyclable and high-strength SNWs that exhibit both the functionality of inorganic nanomaterials and the processability of polymers.