Recent advances in the chemical recycling of polyesters

Abstract

Whilst polymers have played a significant role in the development of modern society, a rapid growth of polymer waste is disadvantageously influencing communities and ecosystems across the world. Constructing a closed-loop life cycle of polymer materials is urgently in demand. Chemical recycling of polyesters, which can be recovered to the pristine monomers or transformed to other value-added products, has been considered as an appealing recycling approach to circular polymer economy and attracted enormous attention in the last several years. This review highlights some recent progress in the chemical recycling of diverse polyesters, including commercialized poly(lactic acid), poly(ε-caprolactone), poly(ethylene terephthalate), as well as various novel chemically recyclable polyesters and polycarbonates. Eventually, based on these technological developments, we discuss the remaining challenges and identify promising research opportunities, providing insights into future directions for achieving a genuine closed-loop polymer economy.