Reversible Amidation Chemistry Enables Closed‐Loop Chemical Recycling of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites to Monomers and Fibers

Highly efficient recycling of carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites into monomers and fibers is a formidable challenge. Herein, we present a closed‐loop recycling approach for carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites using reversible amidation chemistry, which enables the complete recovery of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2023-10, Vol.62 (43), p.e202311856-e202311856
Main Authors: Qin, Bo, Liu, Siyuan, Xu, Jiang‐Fei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambient temperature
Carbon
Carbon fiber reinforced plastics
Carbon fiber reinforcement
Chemical recycling
Closed-loop recycling
Corrosion resistance
Depolymerization
Fiber composites
Fiber reinforced polymers
Fibers
Maleic anhydride
Mechanical properties
Monomers
Polyethyleneimine
Polymer matrix composites
Polymers
Recycling
Separation
Thermal resistance
Thermal stability
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Summary:Highly efficient recycling of carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites into monomers and fibers is a formidable challenge. Herein, we present a closed‐loop recycling approach for carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites using reversible amidation chemistry, which enables the complete recovery of intact carbon fibers and pure monomers. The polymer network, synthesized by amidation between a macromonomer linear polyethyleneimine and a bifunctional maleic anhydride cross‐linker, serves as a matrix for the construction of composites with exceptional mechanical properties, thermal stability and solvent resistance. The matrices can be fully depolymerized under the acidic condition at ambient temperature, allowing the effective separation and recovery of both carbon fibers and the two monomers. The reclaimed carbon fibers retain nearly identical mechanical properties to pristine ones, while pure monomers are recycled with high separation yields (>93 %). They can be reused in for multiple cycles for the manufacture of new composites, whose mechanical properties recover over 95 % of their original properties. This line of research presents a promising approach for the design of high‐performance and sustainable thermoset composites, offering significant environmental and economic benefits.
ISSN:1433-7851
1521-3773
DOI:10.1002/anie.202311856