{"database":"biostudies-literature","file_versions":[],"scores":null,"additional":{"submitter":["Millucci F"],"funding":["Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR)","European Union","European Commission"],"pagination":["e14136"],"full_dataset_link":["https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12759205"],"repository":["biostudies-literature"],"omics_type":["Unknown"],"volume":["65(1)"],"pubmed_abstract":["Chemical recycling of plastics holds great promise but remains constrained by sustainability issues, with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) epitomizing this challenge. Herein, we introduce a conceptually novel strategy that overcomes PET's intrinsic hydrophobicity by physically re-engineering the polymer's microstructure to enable ultrafast alkaline hydrolysis under exceptionally mild conditions. We leverage the ability of propylene carbonate (PC)-an inexpensive, commercial, green solvent-to selectively dissolve PET, to thermally induce phase separation, and subsequently act as a carrier for water insertion between polymer chains. Upon complete PC replacement, the water uptake exceeds twice the polymer mass, preventing chain re-compaction and establishing an interfacial environment that facilitates hydroxyl ion diffusion to ester bonds and depolymerization with minimal alkali consumption. As a result, water-swollen PET fully depolymerizes (96% TPA yield) at atmospheric pressure within 5 min at 90 ∘C$^{\\circ }{\\rm C}$ or under 2 h at room temperature, vastly outperforming conventional hydrolysis methods. The process achieves a >$>$ 20-fold reduction in energy footprint versus direct PET hydrolysis. It performs robustly on challenging, real-world feedstocks-including textiles and mixed plastic waste-enabling selective depolymerization unaffected by PET crystallinity. A techno-economic analysis (TEA) confirms energy efficiency and strong economic feasibility, demonstrating overall competitiveness with existing engineered technologies. Beyond PET, the physical mechanism underpinning the strategy offers a scalable and sustainable platform for recycling a wide range of condensation polymers."],"journal":["Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)"],"pubmed_title":["Overcoming Hydrophobicity with Water Enables Ultrafast Hydrolysis of Waste Polyethylene Terephthalate at Very Mild Conditions."],"pmcid":["PMC12759205"],"funding_grant_id":["REACT-EU - PON R&I 2014-2020","ECS00000041 - VITALITY - CUP J97G22000170005","ECS00000041 ‐ VITALITY ‐ CUP J97G22000170005"],"pubmed_authors":["Gabrielli S","Donnadio A","Corezzi S","Millucci F","Germani R","Colelli L","Conti M","Sassi P"],"additional_accession":[]},"is_claimable":false,"name":"Overcoming Hydrophobicity with Water Enables Ultrafast Hydrolysis of Waste Polyethylene Terephthalate at Very Mild Conditions.","description":"Chemical recycling of plastics holds great promise but remains constrained by sustainability issues, with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) epitomizing this challenge. Herein, we introduce a conceptually novel strategy that overcomes PET's intrinsic hydrophobicity by physically re-engineering the polymer's microstructure to enable ultrafast alkaline hydrolysis under exceptionally mild conditions. We leverage the ability of propylene carbonate (PC)-an inexpensive, commercial, green solvent-to selectively dissolve PET, to thermally induce phase separation, and subsequently act as a carrier for water insertion between polymer chains. Upon complete PC replacement, the water uptake exceeds twice the polymer mass, preventing chain re-compaction and establishing an interfacial environment that facilitates hydroxyl ion diffusion to ester bonds and depolymerization with minimal alkali consumption. As a result, water-swollen PET fully depolymerizes (96% TPA yield) at atmospheric pressure within 5 min at 90 ∘C$^{\\circ }{\\rm C}$ or under 2 h at room temperature, vastly outperforming conventional hydrolysis methods. The process achieves a >$>$ 20-fold reduction in energy footprint versus direct PET hydrolysis. It performs robustly on challenging, real-world feedstocks-including textiles and mixed plastic waste-enabling selective depolymerization unaffected by PET crystallinity. A techno-economic analysis (TEA) confirms energy efficiency and strong economic feasibility, demonstrating overall competitiveness with existing engineered technologies. Beyond PET, the physical mechanism underpinning the strategy offers a scalable and sustainable platform for recycling a wide range of condensation polymers.","dates":{"release":"2026-01-01T00:00:00Z","publication":"2026 Jan","modification":"2026-06-06T09:26:31.498Z","creation":"2026-05-28T03:12:18.543Z"},"accession":"S-EPMC12759205","cross_references":{"pubmed":["41211620"],"doi":["10.1002/anie.202514136"]}}