Chemical recycling to monomers: Industrial Bisphenol-A-Polycarbonates to novel aliphatic polycarbonate materials

The extensive use of commodity polymer materials has led to the depletion of natural resources and caused the undesirable problem of plastic pollution. In this context, the design of novel polymeric structures with unique recyclability characteristics from renewable resources and the recycling of real-life plastic wastes are critical to address the problems associated with the increasing demand for plastics. Chemical degradation of wastes through polymerization-depolymerization followed by re-polymerization has already emerged as a long-term strategy toward the attainment of completely sustainable cycles. Bisphenol-A-polycarbonates (BPA-PC) exhibit high thermal resistance, excellent mechanical properties, and high optical transparency, which make them suitable materials for commodity and engineering plastics. This review presents our vision for realizing a circular polymer economy for polycarbonate materials-from the chemical recycling of widely used BPA-PCs to the novel aliphatic polycarbonates from renewable resources.