Thermal solution depolymerization is a promising low-temperature chemical recycling strategy enabling high monomer recovery from polymers made by controlled radical polymerization. However, current methodologies predominantly focus on the depolymerization of monofunctional polymers, limiting the material scope and depolymerization pathways. Herein, we report the depolymerization of telechelic polymers synthesized by RAFT polymerization. Notably, we observed a significant decrease in the molecular weight (M_n) of the polymers during monomer recovery, which contrasts the minimal M_n shift observed during the depolymerization of monofunctional polymers. Introducing Z groups at the center or both ends of the polymer resulted in distinct kinetic profiles, indicating partial depolymerization of the bifunctional polymers, as supported by mathematical modeling. Remarkably, telechelic polymers featuring R-terminal groups showed up to 68% improvement in overall depolymerization conversion compared to their monofunctional analogues, highlighting the potential of these materials in chemical recycling and the circular economy.

中文翻译：

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RAFT 遥爪聚合物的热溶液解聚


热溶液解聚是一种有前景的低温化学回收策略，能够从受控自由基聚合制备的聚合物中实现高单体回收率。然而，当前的方法主要集中于单官能聚合物的解聚，限制了材料范围和解聚途径。在此，我们报道了通过 RAFT 聚合合成的远爪聚合物的解聚。值得注意的是，我们观察到单体回收过程中聚合物的分子量 (M _n ) 显着下降，这与单官能聚合物解聚过程中观察到的最小 M _n 变化形成鲜明对比。在聚合物的中心或两端引入 Z 基团会产生不同的动力学曲线，表明双功能聚合物发生部分解聚，这得到了数学模型的支持。值得注意的是，与单官能类似物相比，具有 R 末端基团的遥爪聚合物的整体解聚转化率提高了 68%，凸显了这些材料在化学回收和循环经济中的潜力。