Gallium-catalyzed recycling of silicone waste with boron trichloride to yield key chlorosilanes

Chemical recycling to monomers is a key strategy for a sustainable circular polymer economy. However, most efforts have focused on polymers with carbon backbones. Recycling of silicone polymers and corresponding materials, featuring a robust inorganic backbone and tunable properties, remains in its infancy. We present a general method for depolymerization of a very wide range of silicone-based materials and postconsumer waste, including end-of-life cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane-based networks within formulated materials. The reaction proceeds at 40°C, harnessing an efficient gallium catalyst for a million-fold rate enhancement and boron trichloride as the chlorine source, to produce nearly quantitative yields of (methyl)chlorosilanes, key intermediates in the Müller-Rochow process that anchors the silicone industry.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Science
Published
2025-04-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adv0919
Citations
18
Primary Topic
Extraction and Separation Processes
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
12.84

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Gallium-catalyzed recycling of silicone waste with boron trichloride to yield key chlorosilanes

Nam Đức Vũ, Aurélie Boulegue-Mondière, Rudy Lhermet, Jean Raynaud et al.
18 citations
Science
Extraction and Separation Processes
12.84
article

Gallium-catalyzed recycling of silicone waste with boron trichloride to yield key chlorosilanes

Nam Đức Vũ, Aurélie Boulegue-Mondière, Rudy Lhermet, Jean Raynaud, Vincent Monteil, Anne Baudouin, Steven Roldán‐Gómez, David Gajan, Lionel Perrin, Joséphine Munsch, Mickaël Boste, Nicolas Durand
article en
18 citations

Abstract

Chemical recycling to monomers is a key strategy for a sustainable circular polymer economy. However, most efforts have focused on polymers with carbon backbones. Recycling of silicone polymers and corresponding materials, featuring a robust inorganic backbone and tunable properties, remains in its infancy. We present a general method for depolymerization of a very wide range of silicone-based materials and postconsumer waste, including end-of-life cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane-based networks within formulated materials. The reaction proceeds at 40°C, harnessing an efficient gallium catalyst for a million-fold rate enhancement and boron trichloride as the chlorine source, to produce nearly quantitative yields of (methyl)chlorosilanes, key intermediates in the Müller-Rochow process that anchors the silicone industry.

ScienceVol. 388(6745)
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (FR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Bluestar Silicones (France) (FR), Institut de Chimie et Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires (FR), Unité de catalyse et de chimie du solide de Lille (FR), École d'Ingénieurs en Chimie et Sciences du Numérique (FR)
Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Extraction and Separation Processes
12.84
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.