Circular olefin copolymers made de novo from ethylene and α-olefins

Xing-Wang Han, Xun Zhang, Youyun Zhou, Aizezi Maimaitiming, Xiu-Li Sun, Yanshan Gao (), Peizhi Li, Boyu Zhu, Eugene Y.-X. Chen (), Xiaokang Kuang and Yong Tang ()
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Xing-Wang Han: Southern University of Science and Technology
Xun Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Youyun Zhou: Southern University of Science and Technology
Aizezi Maimaitiming: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiu-Li Sun: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yanshan Gao: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Peizhi Li: Southern University of Science and Technology
Boyu Zhu: Southern University of Science and Technology
Eugene Y.-X. Chen: Colorado State University
Xiaokang Kuang: Southern University of Science and Technology
Yong Tang: Southern University of Science and Technology

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Ethylene/α-olefin copolymers are produced in huge scale and widely used, but their after-use disposal has caused plastic pollution problems. Their chemical inertness made chemical re/upcycling difficult. Ideally, PE materials should be made de novo to have a circular closed-loop lifecycle. However, synthesis of circular ethylene/α-olefin copolymers, including high-volume, linear low-density PE as well as high-value olefin elastomers and block copolymers, presents a particular challenge due to difficulties in introducing branches while simultaneously installing chemical recyclability and directly using industrial ethylene and α-olefin feedstocks. Here we show that coupling of industrial coordination copolymerization of ethylene and α-olefins with a designed functionalized chain-transfer agent, followed by modular assembly of the resulting AB telechelic polyolefin building blocks by polycondensation, affords a series of ester-linked PE-based copolymers. These new materials not only retain thermomechanical properties of PE-based materials but also exhibit full chemical circularity via simple transesterification and markedly enhanced adhesion to polar surfaces.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45219-w

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