Synthesis of Chemically Recyclable Poly(glycolic acid)-based Triblock Copolymers with Adjustable Performance

Qi-Ying Zhong; Xue-Ping Ou-Yang; Fang Li; Si-Chong Chen; Gang Wu; Yu-Zhong Wang

doi:10.1007/s10118-025-3454-z

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Synthesis of Chemically Recyclable Poly(glycolic acid)-based Triblock Copolymers with Adjustable Performance

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2025-12-03

- Synthesis of Chemically Recyclable Poly(glycolic acid)-based Triblock Copolymers with Adjustable Performance
- Synthesis of Chemically Recyclable Poly(glycolic acid)-based Triblock Copolymers with Adjustable Performance
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science 2025年43卷第12期页码：2310-2324
- Affiliations：
  
  The Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Friendly and Fire-Safety Polymeric Materials (MOE), National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), State Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymer Materials, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
- Author bio：
  
  gangwu@scu.edu.cn
- Funds：
  
  This work was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2021YFB3801901), the Institutional Research Fund from Sichuan University (No. 2020SCUNL205), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, and the Higher Education Discipline Innovation Project (No. B20001).;Electronic supplementary information (ESI) is available free of charge in the online version of this article at http://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-025-3454-z.
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3454-z
  中图分类号：
- 收稿：2025-07-26，
  
  修回：2025-09-09，
  
  录用：2025-09-12，
  
  网络首发：2025-11-19，
  
  纸质出版：2025-12-15
- Accepted：
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Zhong, Q. Y.; Ou-Yang, X. P.; Li, F.; Chen, S. C.; Wu, G.; Wang, Y. Z. Synthesis of chemically recyclable poly(glycolic acid)-based triblock copolymers with adjustable performance. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 2310–2324

Qi-Ying Zhong, Xue-Ping Ou-Yang, Fang Li, et al. Synthesis of Chemically Recyclable Poly(glycolic acid)-based Triblock Copolymers with Adjustable Performance[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2025, 43(12): 2310-2324.
Zhong, Q. Y.; Ou-Yang, X. P.; Li, F.; Chen, S. C.; Wu, G.; Wang, Y. Z. Synthesis of chemically recyclable poly(glycolic acid)-based triblock copolymers with adjustable performance. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 2310–2324 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3454-z.

Qi-Ying Zhong, Xue-Ping Ou-Yang, Fang Li, et al. Synthesis of Chemically Recyclable Poly(glycolic acid)-based Triblock Copolymers with Adjustable Performance[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2025, 43(12): 2310-2324. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3454-z.

摘要

In this work

a chemically recyclable and biodegradable poly(glycolic acid)-based triblock copolymer with adjustable performance was synthesized. The PGA-based triblock copolymer can be recycled to the monomer through vacuum-assisted catalytic thermal depolymerization without any solvent

which establishes chemically closed-loop recycling.

Abstract

Polymers that exhibit both biodegradability and chemical recyclability offer a promising solution to environmental pollution and resource scarcity. Poly(glycolic acid) (PGA) is a promising chemically recyclable polymer

characterized by its seawater degradability and high mechanical strength. In this study

aliphatic polycarbonates were synthesized through melt polycondensation and subsequently copolymerized with glycolide (GL) to produce chemically recyclable PGA based triblock copolymers with well-defined structures. The properties of these copolymers

including their thermal properties

crystallization behavior

and mechanical performance

can be effectively adjusted by modifying the structure and content of the middle block. Furthermore

an in-depth investigation reveals that the pyrolysis process involves ester exchange

radical

and back-biting reactions. In addition

the high-efficiency "Monomer↔Copolymer" chemical recycling loop has been established

achieving a remarkable yield exceeding 88% along with a purity greater than 99%.

关键词

Keywords

references

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