Chemically and Mechanically Recyclable Vitrimers from Carbon Dioxide-Based Polycarbonates

Designing thermoset materials with dynamic cross-links is an important strategy to mitigate rising global carbon dioxide emission levels. The development of polymers from sustainable feedstocks, with efficient manufacturing methods, for high-value applications, and with circular end-of-use solutions is essential for advancing material technologies. One approach involves exploiting carbon dioxide itself as a feedstock to create high-performance, sustainable materials by enchaining 50 mol % CO2 via copolymerization with epoxides to yield polycarbonates. This work describes the synthesis, end-functionalization, and curing of poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) and poly(cyclohexene carbonate) (PCHC) into β-hydroxy ester vitrimers. These vitrimers demonstrate the ability to be mechanically reprocessed up to 3 times with retention of the material’s properties through dynamic transesterification exchange reactions. The polycarbonate vitrimers with gel fractions exceeding 90% exhibit high tensile strength (>50 MPa) and Young’s modulus (>2 GPa), achieved by varying the repeat unit structure in the polymer backbone from the low Tg PPC to the more rigid high Tg PCHC structures. Owing to an entropically favorable chain backbiting mechanism, the network chains can be cleaved and depolymerized into cyclic small molecules. In the case of PCHC, this process enables repolymerization back to polycarbonates with 69 wt % CO2 retention through life cycles. The promising mechanical performance and recyclability of these CO2-based polycarbonate vitrimers indicate their potential for sustainable, high-performance materials, paving the way for future innovations in circular polymer technologies and carbon capture utilization.