VITRENZA

Vitrimers are a type of plastic that reconcile high performance and recyclability, a combination not typically achieved with conventional plastics. They are composed of reversible covalent bonds, which can break and reform instantly, enabling properties such as recyclability and degradability while maintaining a high level of thermal and mechanical properties.
Because of this ability, vitrimers can be used in a wide range of applications where recyclability or degradability are not generally considered. Printed circuit boards and compositions are examples of these applications. To address this issue, this project aims to explore a degradation approach inspired by recent advances in recycling of commodity plastics: enzymatic degradation. There are many similarities between vitrimers and thermoplastics at a molecular level, making it possible to adapt existing knowledge on enzymatic recycling to this new class of materials. However, one key challenge to overcome is the very dense network of molecular chains in vitrimers, limiting the access to the areas that enzyme can break down. To overcome this, the project will consider the use of a new type of environmentally friendly solvent: deep eutectic solvent. They will be used for multiple purposes: they will be used both to swell and even to predegrade the vitrimer network to facilitate the access of enzymes to degradable sites, and to enhance the activity and recovery of the enzymes after that. The project will address these aspects, including the fine tuning of the chemical structure of vitrimers making them more susceptible to enzymatic degradation, and the recovery and reuse of the degradation by-products.