POS9-0340
Closed-Loop Recyclable Thermosets Enabled by Dynamic Fe(III)-Vicinal Diol Coordination and Metathesis Depolymerization
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)
Seulchan Lee (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Thermosets exhibit excellent mechanical robustness, dimensional stability, and chemical resistance, but their permanently crosslinked structures severely limit end-of-life recycling. Dynamic polymer networks have emerged as promising alternatives, however, most systems rely on reprocessing or network reconstruction rather than recovery of the original monomer. Herein, we report a fully recyclable coordination adaptable network based on vicinal diol-functionalized cyclohexene polymers and dynamic Fe(III) coordination. The vicinal diol motif enables stable metal-coordinated network formation, whereas the low ring-strain energy of the cyclohexene-derived backbone allows efficient ring-closing metathesis depolymerization. The resulting thermoset undergoes mechanical reprocessing through reversible metal-ligand exchange, chemical decrosslinking, and monomer recovery in 79% yield. The material also shows high mechanical performance, with tensile strength above 25 MPa and elongation above 600%, along with shape-memory behavior and applicability to recyclable conductive composites. This work demonstrates a molecular design strategy for closed-loop recyclable thermosets by integrating dynamic metal coordination with ring-strain-controlled metathesis chemistry.
