Chemical upcycling offers a cost effective, efficient, and atom economical pathway towards a sustainable plastics industry. Due to the compounding increase in polymer production (~8 % compounded annually) there is an increasing need to develop these chemical strategies. Herein, we report a novel synthetic pathway toward polymer upcycling through homogeneous gold (Au) catalysis towards value added products from plastic waste. The unique reactivity of Au catalysts toward unsaturated C–C bonds provides a platform for the functionalization of commercial polymer materials. Optimization of the catalyst, co-catalyst identity, catalyst loading, reaction temperature, and solvent allowed for efficient polymer functionalization under facile reaction conditions unprecedented in traditional upcycling approaches. Changes in the molecular weight and polymer structure, determined via chromatographic and spectroscopic experiments provided direct evidence of polymer functionalization in the absence of deleterious side reactions commonly observed in analogous transformations. This approach was found compatible with post-consumer plastic waste, demonstrating direction functionalization of these materials in a single step, in the presence of plastic additives, and under mild conditions. The reactions proceed with unprecedented catalytic performance, demonstrating that the homogeneous Au catalysis can open new opportunities for the chemical transformation of waste polymer materials.

Homogeneous gold catalysis as a platform towards upcycled aromatic polymers

ACS Spring 2022

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