POS9-1306
Depolymerization of Boron-Pendant Polymers Triggered by Chain-End Activation
Topic
S9. Polymer Technology for Sustainability
When and Where
Sep 30, 2026
08:30 - 09:30
Room 301 (Grand Ballroom)
Session Chairs
Heesuk KIM
Jinhye BAE
Presenter(s)
Satoshi Akabane (Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) has a ceiling temperature of approximately 200˚C, and the depolymerization has been extensively studied. Interestingly, it has been reported that PMMA bearing a halogen or thioester end group, prepared by reversible deactivation radical polymerization (i.e., ATRP or RAFT), undergoes depolymerization via an unzipping mechanism initiated by end-group activation, regenerating the corresponding monomer (i.e., MMA) [1]. Such depolymerization is an attractive approach to chemical recycling, but it has so far been limited primarily to PMMA among polymers that are obtained via chain-growth polymerization. Recently, we found that a polymer of isopropenylboronic acid pinacol ester (IPBpin) bearing a halogen end group also undergoes depolymerization through metal-catalyzed activation of the chain end at relatively low temperature (> 60˚C) [2].
In this study, we investigated the depolymerization behavior of poly(IPBpin) prepared by RAFT polymerization and compared with that of PMMA. As a result, poly(IPBpin) underwent depolymerization simply by heating at 100 °C, whereas PMMA showed no detectable depolymerization behavior under the same conditions, demonstrating the remarkably high depolymerizability of poly(IPBpin).
[1] Anastasaki, A. et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 9898.
[2] Nishikawa, T.; Ouchi, M. et al. Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2026, 47, e00747.
In this study, we investigated the depolymerization behavior of poly(IPBpin) prepared by RAFT polymerization and compared with that of PMMA. As a result, poly(IPBpin) underwent depolymerization simply by heating at 100 °C, whereas PMMA showed no detectable depolymerization behavior under the same conditions, demonstrating the remarkably high depolymerizability of poly(IPBpin).
[1] Anastasaki, A. et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 9898.
[2] Nishikawa, T.; Ouchi, M. et al. Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2026, 47, e00747.
