Photocatalytic dehydrogenation enables divergent access to functional polyolefins
- 1Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry
- 2Sichuan University
- 3College of Chemistry
Abstract
Polyolefins are among the most widely used plastics, yet their chemically inert hydrocarbon backbones severely limit opportunities for chemical modification and value-added reuse. Introducing carbon–carbon double bonds offers a powerful way to transform these otherwise unreactive materials into versatile intermediates for downstream chemistry. Here we report an acceptorless photocatalytic/cobalt-catalyzed dehydrogenation that operates across a broad range of polyethylene- and polypropylene-based materials, including post-consumer plastics. Notably, polypropylene undergoes dehydrogenation with near-exclusive selectivity for terminal alkene formation. The resulting unsaturated polyolefins serve as versatile platforms for diverse transformations, enabling access to functionalized polyolefins, telechelic polyethylene, as well as block and graft copolymers. These products further demonstrate utility as compatibilizers for immiscible polymer blends and as strong adhesive materials. By converting inert C–H backbones into chemically addressable alkene-containing polymers, this strategy transforms commodity polyolefins into diverse polymer architectures with practical functions.
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BibTeX
@misc{zhang2026photocatalytic,
title = {{Photocatalytic dehydrogenation enables divergent access to functional polyolefins}},
author = {Sijing Zhang and Yong-Hong Luo and Hongliang Zhang and Jian-Bo Zhu and Xiao Xiao},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15010530/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010530/v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Photocatalytic dehydrogenation enables divergent access to functional polyolefins
AU - Sijing Zhang
AU - Yong-Hong Luo
AU - Hongliang Zhang
AU - Jian-Bo Zhu
AU - Xiao Xiao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15010530/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010530/v1
AB - Polyolefins are among the most widely used plastics, yet their chemically inert hydrocarbon backbones severely limit opportunities for chemical modification and value-added reuse. Introducing carbon–carbon double bonds offers a powerful way to transform these otherwise unreactive materials into versatile intermediates for downstream chemistry. Here we report an acceptorless photocatalytic/cobalt-catalyzed dehydrogenation that operates across a broad range of polyethylene- and polypropylene-based materials, including post-consumer plastics. Notably, polypropylene undergoes dehydrogenation with near-exclusive selectivity for terminal alkene formation. The resulting unsaturated polyolefins serve as versatile platforms for diverse transformations, enabling access to functionalized polyolefins, telechelic polyethylene, as well as block and graft copolymers. These products further demonstrate utility as compatibilizers for immiscible polymer blends and as strong adhesive materials. By converting inert C–H backbones into chemically addressable alkene-containing polymers, this strategy transforms commodity polyolefins into diverse polymer architectures with practical functions.
ER -