Chemical Recycling of End-of-Life Poly(lactide) via Zinc-Catalyzed Depolymerization and Polymerization.

The chemical recycling of poly(lactide) was investigated based on depolymerization and polymerization processes. Using methanol as depolymerization reagent and zinc salts as catalyst, poly(lactide) was depolymerized to methyl lactate applying microwave heating. An excellent performance was observed for zinc(II) acetate with turnover frequencies of up to 45000 h.

Chemical Recycling of End-of-Life Poly(lactide) via Zinc-Catalyzed Depolymerization and Polymerization.

10.1002/open.202000243.