Low-Temperature Thermal Depolymerization of Polymethacrylates.
- 1Laboratory for Sustainable Polymers, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5, Zürich8093, Switzerland.
Abstract
The chemical recycling of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) typically requires energy-intensive pyrolysis (>450 °C) or specialized photochemical setups restricted by light penetration depth. Herein, we report a purely thermal, low-temperature strategy that drives the efficient depolymerization of native, unaltered PMMA at 170 °C using commercially accessible peroxides. By maintaining a low steady-state radical concentration, oligomer formation can be fully eliminated, resulting in >95% of regenerated monomer under judiciously optimized conditions. Mechanistic studies and vapor-trapping experiments implicate a dual-activation pathway, where alkoxy radicals work alongside highly reactive chlorine radicals that undergo efficient hydrogen atom transfer with the polymer backbone, resulting in chain scission and subsequent depropagation to monomer. The full omission of chlorinated solvents could also be achieved, albeit at slightly higher temperatures. Notably, the real-world utility of this system is demonstrated by the direct depolymerization of commercial Plexiglas, despite the presence of comonomers, pigments, and additives.
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BibTeX
@article{lin2026lowtemperature,
title = {{Low-Temperature Thermal Depolymerization of Polymethacrylates.}},
author = {Chih-Yin Lin and Nethmi De Alwis Watuthanthrige and Glen R Jones and Stelios Andreou and Richard Whitfield and Hyun Suk Wang and Nghia P Truong and Athina Anastasaki},
journal = {Journal of the American Chemical Society},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1021/jacs.6c13508},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42915502},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Low-Temperature Thermal Depolymerization of Polymethacrylates.
AU - Chih-Yin Lin
AU - Nethmi De Alwis Watuthanthrige
AU - Glen R Jones
AU - Stelios Andreou
AU - Richard Whitfield
AU - Hyun Suk Wang
AU - Nghia P Truong
AU - Athina Anastasaki
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - Journal of the American Chemical Society
DO - 10.1021/jacs.6c13508
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42915502
AB - The chemical recycling of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) typically requires energy-intensive pyrolysis (>450 °C) or specialized photochemical setups restricted by light penetration depth. Herein, we report a purely thermal, low-temperature strategy that drives the efficient depolymerization of native, unaltered PMMA at 170 °C using commercially accessible peroxides. By maintaining a low steady-state radical concentration, oligomer formation can be fully eliminated, resulting in >95% of regenerated monomer under judiciously optimized conditions. Mechanistic studies and vapor-trapping experiments implicate a dual-activation pathway, where alkoxy radicals work alongside highly reactive chlorine radicals that undergo efficient hydrogen atom transfer with the polymer backbone, resulting in chain scission and subsequent depropagation to monomer. The full omission of chlorinated solvents could also be achieved, albeit at slightly higher temperatures. Notably, the real-world utility of this system is demonstrated by the direct depolymerization of commercial Plexiglas, despite the presence of comonomers, pigments, and additives.
SN - 0002-7863
SN - 1520-5126
ER -