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Universal Approach for the Depolymerization of Polyamides via Photothermal Conversion
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Researchers developed a photothermal depolymerization method using carbon black as a light-absorbing agent under visible light to break down multiple polyamide types — including post-consumer waste — achieving monomer yields up to 97% in under an hour, with pigment-containing black plastics serving as their own photothermal agents.
Polyamides (PAs) exhibit excellent chemical stability and mechanical resistance, yet these same characteristics lead to their widespread accumulation in the environment as pollution. In this work, we developed an inclusive and operationally simple photothermal strategy to recycle PAs, overcoming the high energy barriers necessary to break down these materials. PAs can be depolymerized using photothermally mediated ring-closing depolymerization and acidic hydrolysis to afford cyclic and linear monomers using carbon black as a photothermal agent (PTA) under visible light irradiation. We showed that polyamide 6 is efficiently depolymerized to ε-caprolactam with 74% yield in 10 min. Similarly, in 1 h, the photothermal acidic hydrolysis of polyamide 6,6 afforded hexamethylene diamine and adipic acid with 97 and 96% yields, respectively. This method was further applied to a variety of aliphatic and aromatic PAs and mixed PA waste. Both photothermally promoted processes effectively depolymerize pigment-containing postconsumer waste by leveraging existing black pigments as PTAs. Here, photothermal conversion provided a general and rapid route for PA depolymerization under visible light irradiation, enabling high monomer yields with inexpensive reagents and a general tolerance to additives, demonstrating this approach's potential for a circular plastic economy.
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Researchers reviewed the full landscape of catalytic plastic depolymerization strategies — homogeneous, heterogeneous, biocatalytic, photocatalytic, and pyrocatalytic — assessing how nanostructured materials, metal-organic frameworks, enzyme engineering, and emerging plasma or electrocatalytic methods can convert waste polymers into reusable monomers and fuels.
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