ArticleNature communications2025
Atom economic closed-loop recycling of thermoset polyurethane foams.
Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Sustainable Polymer Aerogels: Multiscale Design from Biomass and Thermoset Networks to AI-Guided Materials Discovery.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Upcycling of Commodity Thermoset Polyurethane Towards Smart Materials with End-User-On-Demand Programmable Properties and Adaptable Applications.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Article
- Bidirectional Disulfide Metathesis Enables Recycling of High-Performance Thermoset Networks.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Polyurethane Depolymerization With Alkyl, Aryl, and Mixed Carbonates.ChemSusChem · 2026Article
- Dynamic Covalent Polymeric Foams: En Route to a Sustainable Lightness.ChemSusChem · 2026Review
- Minimal N-hydroxyphthalimide-urethane bonds enable superior thermomechanical stability for covalent adaptable networks.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Sustainable Polyurethane Systems: Integrating Green Synthesis and Closed-Loop Recovery.Polymers · 2026Review
- Tailoring Supramolecular Polyurethane Featuring Bio-based Rigid-Flexible Segment Hybrids with Intrinsic Photothermal Conversion and Ultraviolet Blocking.Research (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Article
- Solvent- and catalyst-free bio-conversion of waste polyurethane foams into high-performance 3D printing resin.National science review · 2025Article
- Mild and metal-free chemical recycling of polyureas via acylation-activated bond cleavage.National science review · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Thermoset polyurethane foams are extensively used in industrial and consumer products, but their end-of-life recycling has been a long-standing challenge. Closed-loop recycling represents an idea solution, but its practical value is often compromised due to the consumption of catalyst and/or solvent as well as degradation in the recycled material properties. Here, we report an efficient foam-to-foam closed-loop recycling strategy that addresses these issues. Our approach relies on the inherent equilibrium nature of the covalent bonds in the polyurethane network. Addition of acetoxime shifts the equilibrium to dissociate the covalent bonds, which transforms a monolithic foam into surface functionalized micro-particles. By removing acetoxime via evaporation, the original covalent bonds are reformed and these micro-particles are rejoined to form a new foam with acetoxime as the porogen. The process employs neither catalyst nor solvent and the only chemical reagent involved (acetoxime) is fully recoverable. Importantly, the process yields new foams with mechanical properties identical or even superior to the original foam. Our strategy of achieving atom economic recycling of polyurethane foams is potentially applicable to other thermosets.
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.