How to reverse radical polymerization back to monomers in a controlled way

Recycling polymers into monomers will make plastics more sustainable. In this issue of Chem, Anastasaki and colleagues report how to reverse, in a controlled manner, radical polymerization back to monomers. Interestingly, the precisely controlled depolymerization enables distinguishing between statistical, gradient, and multiblock copolymers. Recycling polymers into monomers will make plastics more sustainable. In this issue of Chem, Anastasaki and colleagues report how to reverse, in a controlled manner, radical polymerization back to monomers. Interestingly, the precisely controlled depolymerization enables distinguishing between statistical, gradient, and multiblock copolymers. Controlled radical depolymerization: Structural differentiation and molecular weight controlWang et al.ChemOctober 26, 2023In BriefControlled depolymerization for polymethacrylates is achieved by introducing significant deactivation during depolymerization. The result is a gradual decrease in molecular weight during depolymerization, a stark contrast to conventional uncontrolled depolymerization strategies. This gradual “unzipping” of chains allows structural differentiation of different copolymers by analyzing the sequence of the regenerated monomers. This technique can be extended to more complicated copolymers such as pentablock copolymers. Full-Text PDF Open Access