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Peer-reviewedCC BY 3.0Chemical Science

Ion-pair cooperativity in common neutral salts promotes methanolysis of ester-containing plastics

  • Yushuang Huang1,2,3
  • Junjian Xie4
  • Jiawei Xie1,3,5
  • Yisong Zhou1,3
  • Yuan Lei5
  • Tinghao Jia6
  • Jinjin Li7
  • Chang-An Zhou3
  • Chao Wang3
  • Lei Song3
  • Kui Ma3
  • Hairong Yue1,3
1 more authors
  • Ji-Jun Zou8
8 affiliations
  1. 1Institute of New Energy and Low-Carbon Technology, Sichuan University Chengdu 610207 China
  2. 2College of Materials and Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology Chengdu 610059 China
  3. 3School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University Chengdu 610065 China
  4. 4School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an 710072 China
  5. 5State Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymer Materials (Sichuan University), Sichuan University Chengdu 610065 China
  6. 6College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310027 China
  7. 7Research Institute of Natural Gas Technology, PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gasfield Company Chengdu 610299 China
  8. 8School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
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Abstract

Methanolysis is a promising strategy for chemical recycling of ester-containing plastics, but current approaches rely on homogeneous acids/bases or heterogeneous catalysts, which suffer from corrosion and deactivation. Here we report that common neutral salts can promote plastic methanolysis via an ion-pair cooperative mechanism. In situ spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, Raman spectroscopy, molecular dynamics simulations, and density functional theory calculations reveal that Na+ coordinates with carbonyl oxygen, enhancing carbonyl electrophilicity, while Cl− interacts with methanol through O–H⋯Cl− hydrogen bonding, disrupting its hydrogen-bond network and activating the nucleophile. Extending this concept to various neutral salts establishes a clear structure–activity relationship governed by cation-mediated substrate activation and anion-mediated methanol activation. Notably, naturally occurring salts also show comparable activity, and the strategy is applicable to representative ester-containing plastics including polycarbonate (PC), polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). These results identify ion-pair cooperativity as a possible mechanism for polymer depolymerization and provide a feasible strategy for plastic chemical recycling.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{huang2026ionpair,
  title = {{Ion-pair cooperativity in common neutral salts promotes methanolysis of ester-containing plastics}},
  author = {Yushuang Huang and Junjian Xie and Jiawei Xie and Yisong Zhou and Yuan Lei and Tinghao Jia and Jinjin Li and Chang-An Zhou and Chao Wang and Lei Song and Kui Ma and Hairong Yue and Ji-Jun Zou},
  journal = {Chemical Science},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1039/d6sc04874a},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1039/d6sc04874a},
  note = {CC BY 3.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Ion-pair cooperativity in common neutral salts promotes methanolysis of ester-containing plastics
AU  - Yushuang Huang
AU  - Junjian Xie
AU  - Jiawei Xie
AU  - Yisong Zhou
AU  - Yuan Lei
AU  - Tinghao Jia
AU  - Jinjin Li
AU  - Chang-An Zhou
AU  - Chao Wang
AU  - Lei Song
AU  - Kui Ma
AU  - Hairong Yue
AU  - Ji-Jun Zou
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/15
JO  - Chemical Science
DO  - 10.1039/d6sc04874a
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1039/d6sc04874a
AB  - Methanolysis is a promising strategy for chemical recycling of ester-containing plastics, but current approaches rely on homogeneous acids/bases or heterogeneous catalysts, which suffer from corrosion and deactivation. Here we report that common neutral salts can promote plastic methanolysis via an ion-pair cooperative mechanism. In situ spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, Raman spectroscopy, molecular dynamics simulations, and density functional theory calculations reveal that Na+ coordinates with carbonyl oxygen, enhancing carbonyl electrophilicity, while Cl− interacts with methanol through O–H⋯Cl− hydrogen bonding, disrupting its hydrogen-bond network and activating the nucleophile. Extending this concept to various neutral salts establishes a clear structure–activity relationship governed by cation-mediated substrate activation and anion-mediated methanol activation. Notably, naturally occurring salts also show comparable activity, and the strategy is applicable to representative ester-containing plastics including polycarbonate (PC), polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). These results identify ion-pair cooperativity as a possible mechanism for polymer depolymerization and provide a feasible strategy for plastic chemical recycling.
SN  - 2041-6520
SN  - 2041-6539
ER  -