Efficient chemical recycling of poly(L-lactic acid) via either alcoholysis to alkyl lactate or thermal depolymerization to L-lactide promoted by Zn(II) catalysts

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA), a commercially fully bio-based and biodegradable polymer, stands out as a sustainable alternative to commodity plastics. Its current end-of-life management involves composting, but chemical recycling would be more appropriate for a circular economy model. Here we report two very efficient chemical recycling pathways for commercial high molar mass and highly crystalline PLA samples, both ones promoted by different imidazole[1,5- a ]pyrid-3-yl)phenolate Zn(II) catalysts: (i) alcoholysis was easily achieved by simply treating the polymer samples in boiling methanol in the presence of 1 % Zn(II) catalyst, resulting in up to 99 % yield and selectivity in methyl lactate; and (ii) chemical recycling to the monomer was achieved by heating the polymer samples at 180 °C under vacuum or in a nitrogen flow in the presence of 0.1 % Zn(II) catalyst and a highly boiling alcohol, resulting in up to 99 % yield of L-lactide, having high chemical and steric purity, which could be repolymerized without any further purification. • Chemical recycling of poly(L-lactide) was achieved by properly designed Zn(II) catalysts. • Up to 99 % methyl lactate results by treating the polymer samples in boiling methanol. • Up to 99 % L-lactide results from depolymerization in bulk at 180 °C under vacuum. • Performance of Zn(II) catalyst is comparable or better than that of Sn(Oct) 2 . • A simple polymer-monomer-polymer circular loop was demonstrated for PLA.