High-performance pan-tactic polythioesters with intrinsic crystallinity and chemical recyclability

by Changxia Shi, Zi-Chen Li, Luigi Cavallo, Laura Falivene, Eugene Y-X Chen, et.al.
Year: 2020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abc0495

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Science advances

Abstract

Three types of seemingly unyielding trade-offs have continued to challenge the rational design for circular polymers with both high chemical recyclability and high-performance properties: depolymerizability/performance, crystallinity/ductility, and stereo-disorder/crystallinity. Here, we introduce a monomer design strategy based on a bridged bicyclic thiolactone that produces stereo-disordered to perfectly stereo-ordered polythiolactones, all exhibiting high crystallinity and full chemical recyclability. These polythioesters defy aforementioned trade-offs by having an unusual set of desired properties, including intrinsic tacticity-independent crystallinity and chemical recyclability, tunable tacticities from stereo-disorder to perfect stereoregularity, as well as combined high-performance properties such as high thermal stability and crystallinity, and high mechanical strength, ductility, and toughness.