Rational Design of Molecularly Imprinted Nanozymes for Selective Degradation of Poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (BPA-PC)
- 1Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-3111, USA
Abstract
Poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (BPA-PC) is an engineering thermoplastic whose recycling is hindered by its Code-7 classification and environmental BPA leaching. Here, we report water-soluble molecularly imprinted nanozymes for the selective depolymerization of BPA-PC under mild alkaline conditions. Synthesized within cross-linked surfactant micelles, the optimized nanozyme combines shape-complementary BPA-matched pockets with surface basicity, achieving a 72-fold rate enhancement over porcine pancreatic lipase. Fluorescence titrations with a soluble dansyl-labeled BPA-PC dimer confirm strong substrate recognition (Ka ~106 M−1). Gel permeation chromatography reveals uniform reductions of 52–55% across Mn, Mw, and Mz, indicative of a random endo-chain cleavage mechanism. On macroscopic BPA-PC films, the nanozyme induces pronounced cracking and surface erosion, whereas polyethylene terephthalate (PET) control films remain undamaged. Furthermore, the aqueous nanozyme retains ~75% of its initial catalytic activity across five consecutive degradation cycles following simple phase extraction. This study demonstrates that tailored, shape-complementary nanozymes provide a generalizable, selective biocatalytic alternative for the circular chemical recycling of recalcitrant engineering plastics.
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BibTeX
@article{bui2026rational,
title = {{Rational Design of Molecularly Imprinted Nanozymes for Selective Degradation of Poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (BPA-PC)}},
author = {Tien Tan Bui and Yan Zhao},
journal = {Polymers},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/polym18202560},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/20/2560},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Rational Design of Molecularly Imprinted Nanozymes for Selective Degradation of Poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (BPA-PC)
AU - Tien Tan Bui
AU - Yan Zhao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/17
JO - Polymers
DO - 10.3390/polym18202560
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/20/2560
AB - Poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (BPA-PC) is an engineering thermoplastic whose recycling is hindered by its Code-7 classification and environmental BPA leaching. Here, we report water-soluble molecularly imprinted nanozymes for the selective depolymerization of BPA-PC under mild alkaline conditions. Synthesized within cross-linked surfactant micelles, the optimized nanozyme combines shape-complementary BPA-matched pockets with surface basicity, achieving a 72-fold rate enhancement over porcine pancreatic lipase. Fluorescence titrations with a soluble dansyl-labeled BPA-PC dimer confirm strong substrate recognition (Ka ~106 M−1). Gel permeation chromatography reveals uniform reductions of 52–55% across Mn, Mw, and Mz, indicative of a random endo-chain cleavage mechanism. On macroscopic BPA-PC films, the nanozyme induces pronounced cracking and surface erosion, whereas polyethylene terephthalate (PET) control films remain undamaged. Furthermore, the aqueous nanozyme retains ~75% of its initial catalytic activity across five consecutive degradation cycles following simple phase extraction. This study demonstrates that tailored, shape-complementary nanozymes provide a generalizable, selective biocatalytic alternative for the circular chemical recycling of recalcitrant engineering plastics.
SN - 2073-4360
ER -