The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a high-strength imine-based vitrimer that combines excellent mechanical properties with outstanding reprocessability and chemical recyclability. The vitrimer resin maintained nearly identical mechanical performance to the pristine material (97%) even after more than ten reprocessing cycles, enabled by dynamic imine exchange reactions allowing both network reprocessing and depolymerization. The resin was further applied to fabricate carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites, which maintained robust mechanical performance together with reprocessability and chemical recyclability. To quantitatively evaluate the sustainability of this system, life cycle assessment (LCA) revealed that repeated recycling progressively reduces environmental impact, demonstrating that recyclability can actively enhance sustainability. This study presents a viable pathway toward high-performance and environmentally sustainable vitrimer-based CFRP systems.