Sequential Direct Electrodegradation of Polyurethane
Abstract
Polyurethane (PU) is a structurally complex polymer whose hard aromatic and soft aliphatic segments define its materials properties. The urethane linkers connecting these segments provide stability and hydrolysis resistance but make end-of-life chemical processing challenging. Electrodegradation provides a mild, scalable, and efficient approach to polymer degradation that has been used to oxidatively or reductively cleave specific linkers or functional groups. Here, we report the sequential direct electrodegradation of the multiple segments within polyurethane. We chose a commercial polyurethane with a diaromatic methylene-bridged hard segment and ether and polyester soft segments, and characterized its dissolution and electrochemical properties. We then measured polymer degradation via size exclusion chromatography for different reaction conditions and determined that only an oligomeric polyester product remained. We characterized reaction intermediates of the polymer and representative model compounds to determine that oxidation begins at the electron-rich hard segment methylene bridge, followed by the electron-rich ether soft segment, and finally resulted in the release of the electron-poor polyester soft segment as the final product. This work establishes that a complex polymer can be sequentially electrodegraded based on electrochemical properties of the individual segments.
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BibTeX
@misc{ansarian2026sequential,
title = {{Sequential Direct Electrodegradation of Polyurethane}},
author = {Zahra Ansarian and Rebecca S. Sherbo},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15008142/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008142/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Sequential Direct Electrodegradation of Polyurethane
AU - Zahra Ansarian
AU - Rebecca S. Sherbo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15008142/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008142/v1
AB - Polyurethane (PU) is a structurally complex polymer whose hard aromatic and soft aliphatic segments define its materials properties. The urethane linkers connecting these segments provide stability and hydrolysis resistance but make end-of-life chemical processing challenging. Electrodegradation provides a mild, scalable, and efficient approach to polymer degradation that has been used to oxidatively or reductively cleave specific linkers or functional groups. Here, we report the sequential direct electrodegradation of the multiple segments within polyurethane. We chose a commercial polyurethane with a diaromatic methylene-bridged hard segment and ether and polyester soft segments, and characterized its dissolution and electrochemical properties. We then measured polymer degradation via size exclusion chromatography for different reaction conditions and determined that only an oligomeric polyester product remained. We characterized reaction intermediates of the polymer and representative model compounds to determine that oxidation begins at the electron-rich hard segment methylene bridge, followed by the electron-rich ether soft segment, and finally resulted in the release of the electron-poor polyester soft segment as the final product. This work establishes that a complex polymer can be sequentially electrodegraded based on electrochemical properties of the individual segments.
ER -