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DOE OSTI · 1998627

Electricity-driven recycling of ester plastics using one-electron electro-organocatalysis

Pham, Phuc H.·Barlow, Stephen·Marder, Seth R.·Luca, Oana R.
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Abstract

Here, we report the catalytic use of electrochemically generated one-electron reducing agents to produce ester anion radicals that can decompose to acids and alcohols in the presence of oxygen. Through this approach, we demonstrate that molecular analogs of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) can be deconstructed into their molecular components. We additionally show efficient reductive scission of ester bonds in PET plastic using catalytically regenerated reducing agents based on benzimidazolium cations.

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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCESelectro-organocatalysiselectrochemical recyclingone-electron reductantpolymer recyclingwaste valorization

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Pham, Phuc H., Barlow, Stephen, Marder, Seth R., Luca, Oana R.. 2023-07-03. Electricity-driven recycling of ester plastics using one-electron electro-organocatalysis. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.checat.2023.100675

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