Dynamic covalent bonds of hemiacetals and acetals enables reprocessability and raw material recyclability of high performance cellulosic thermosetting resins

Despite covalent adaptable networks (CANs) imparting the reprocessing performance of crosslinked polymers, due to reversible bond exchange of the dynamic covalent bonds; it is still a huge challenge to design catalyst-free, fast reprocessing, controlled degradation and raw material recycling biomass base CANs. Here, for the first time, we prepared cellulose CANs base on hemiacetal and acetal bonds (ACCs) via aldehyde and hydroxyl reaction of the dialdehyde crosslinker with hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC). By regulating the crosslink density and chemical structure of the crosslinked network, ACCs exhibit tunable thermal and mechanical properties. The crosslinked network structure of the ACCs benefits from the rapid bond exchange of the hemiacetal and acetal bonds at elevated temperatures, which allows for rapid stress relaxation and thus, superior reprocessing properties. In addition, it was found that the dynamic exchange of acetals in the ACCs is influenced by the chain length and flexibility of the crosslinker. Moreover, ACCs possess good degradation and cellulose feedstock recycling properties due to the acid sensitivity of the acetal bonds. This work provides an effective solution to the problems of resource waste caused by petroleum-based thermoset plastics.