Atom economic closed-loop recycling of thermoset polyurethane foams
Abstract Thermoset polyurethane foams are extensively used in industrial and consumer products, but their end-of-life recycling has been a long-standing challenge. Closed-loop recycling represents an idea solution, but its practical value is often compromised due to the consumption of catalyst and/o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60111-x |
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| author | Zenghe Liu Ling Liu Yangfei Li Kexuan Yang Sujing Li Wei Li Yutian Zhu Tao Xie |
| author_facet | Zenghe Liu Ling Liu Yangfei Li Kexuan Yang Sujing Li Wei Li Yutian Zhu Tao Xie |
| author_sort | Zenghe Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Thermoset polyurethane foams are extensively used in industrial and consumer products, but their end-of-life recycling has been a long-standing challenge. Closed-loop recycling represents an idea solution, but its practical value is often compromised due to the consumption of catalyst and/or solvent as well as degradation in the recycled material properties. Here, we report an efficient foam-to-foam closed-loop recycling strategy that addresses these issues. Our approach relies on the inherent equilibrium nature of the covalent bonds in the polyurethane network. Addition of acetoxime shifts the equilibrium to dissociate the covalent bonds, which transforms a monolithic foam into surface functionalized micro-particles. By removing acetoxime via evaporation, the original covalent bonds are reformed and these micro-particles are rejoined to form a new foam with acetoxime as the porogen. The process employs neither catalyst nor solvent and the only chemical reagent involved (acetoxime) is fully recoverable. Importantly, the process yields new foams with mechanical properties identical or even superior to the original foam. Our strategy of achieving atom economic recycling of polyurethane foams is potentially applicable to other thermosets. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dab9ce7731f744059c5cbc49c83ff78d |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-dab9ce7731f744059c5cbc49c83ff78d2025-08-20T02:05:13ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-06-011611810.1038/s41467-025-60111-xAtom economic closed-loop recycling of thermoset polyurethane foamsZenghe Liu0Ling Liu1Yangfei Li2Kexuan Yang3Sujing Li4Wei Li5Yutian Zhu6Tao Xie7Key Laboratory of Organosilicon Chemistry and Material Technology, Ministry of Education, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Organosilicon Material Technology, College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou Normal UniversityKey Laboratory of Organosilicon Chemistry and Material Technology, Ministry of Education, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Organosilicon Material Technology, College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou Normal UniversityKey Laboratory of Organosilicon Chemistry and Material Technology, Ministry of Education, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Organosilicon Material Technology, College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou Normal UniversityState Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang UniversityState Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang UniversityState Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang UniversityKey Laboratory of Organosilicon Chemistry and Material Technology, Ministry of Education, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Organosilicon Material Technology, College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou Normal UniversityState Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang UniversityAbstract Thermoset polyurethane foams are extensively used in industrial and consumer products, but their end-of-life recycling has been a long-standing challenge. Closed-loop recycling represents an idea solution, but its practical value is often compromised due to the consumption of catalyst and/or solvent as well as degradation in the recycled material properties. Here, we report an efficient foam-to-foam closed-loop recycling strategy that addresses these issues. Our approach relies on the inherent equilibrium nature of the covalent bonds in the polyurethane network. Addition of acetoxime shifts the equilibrium to dissociate the covalent bonds, which transforms a monolithic foam into surface functionalized micro-particles. By removing acetoxime via evaporation, the original covalent bonds are reformed and these micro-particles are rejoined to form a new foam with acetoxime as the porogen. The process employs neither catalyst nor solvent and the only chemical reagent involved (acetoxime) is fully recoverable. Importantly, the process yields new foams with mechanical properties identical or even superior to the original foam. Our strategy of achieving atom economic recycling of polyurethane foams is potentially applicable to other thermosets.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60111-x |
| spellingShingle | Zenghe Liu Ling Liu Yangfei Li Kexuan Yang Sujing Li Wei Li Yutian Zhu Tao Xie Atom economic closed-loop recycling of thermoset polyurethane foams Nature Communications |
| title | Atom economic closed-loop recycling of thermoset polyurethane foams |
| title_full | Atom economic closed-loop recycling of thermoset polyurethane foams |
| title_fullStr | Atom economic closed-loop recycling of thermoset polyurethane foams |
| title_full_unstemmed | Atom economic closed-loop recycling of thermoset polyurethane foams |
| title_short | Atom economic closed-loop recycling of thermoset polyurethane foams |
| title_sort | atom economic closed loop recycling of thermoset polyurethane foams |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60111-x |
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