Photo-initiated solvent-mediated depolymerization of consumer poly(methyl methacrylate) without chlorinated reagents

Husband, Jonathan T., Irvine, Gavin, Morris, Callum R., Folli, Andrea ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8913-6606, Davidson, Matthew G. and Freakley, Simon J. 2026. Photo-initiated solvent-mediated depolymerization of consumer poly(methyl methacrylate) without chlorinated reagents. Nature Communications 17 (1) , 1235. 10.1038/s41467-025-67997-7

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Abstract

The chemical recycling of commodity acrylic polymers, such as the transparent thermoplastic polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), typically requires temperatures of 350-400°C. Herein, we report chemical recycling back to monomers for PMMA between 120-180°C, through UV illumination under oxygen-free conditions. We have achieved gram-scale degradation of consumer plastic with >95% conversion, yielding >70% monomer, which can be readily repolymerized. The process proceeds even at high concentrations (>1 M) and depends strongly on solvent choice: aromatic solvents like dichlorobenzene and diphenyl ether maximize conversion. In contrast to a concurrently published study, we report that chlorine radicals are not required for depolymerization; however, when present, they react with the unzipping chain to form chlorine-functionalized PMMA which can be upcycled through derivatization. In more sustainable non-chlorinated solvents such as benzonitrile, minimal termination by radicals enables complete unzipping. These findings demonstrate a low-temperature, scalable route for the chemical recycling of PMMA, offering alternative pathways for plastic circularity.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Chemistry
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, Type: open-access
Publisher:	Nature Research
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	9 February 2026
Date of Acceptance:	12 December 2025
Last Modified:	09 Feb 2026 11:31
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/184528

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