Parke SM,
Lopez JC,
Cui S,
LaPointe AM,
Coates GW.
*
Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
Polyethylene Incorporating Diels–Alder Comonomers: A “Trojan Horse” Strategy for Chemically
Recyclable Polyolefins.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023;
62: e202301927
DOI:
10.1002/anie.202301927
Key words
retro-Diels–Alder reaction - functional polyolefin - telechelic polymer - recyclable
polymer
Significance
Immense research attention has been drawn to tackling the difficulties presented by
polyolefin degradation and recycling. Introducing certain unsaturation, susceptible
to chemical cleavage and functionalization, appears to be one of the possible solutions.
Comment
By introducing Diels–Alder comonomers, masked double bonds are incorporated in the
backbone of polyethylenes. Then, via the post-polymerization retro-Diels–Alder reactions,
the double bonds are readily revealed. When subjected to metathesis conditions, telechelic
polyethylene macromonomers are produced, which can then be used to make recyclable
polyesters.
