Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41410193›Full record

ArticleAngewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)2026

From Plastic Waste to Pharmaceutical Precursors: PET Upcycling Through Ruthenium Catalyzed Semi-Hydrogenation.

Pavel S Kulyabin, James Luk, Evgeny A Uslamin, Alexander A Kolganov, Garima Saini, Raymundo Marcial-Hernandez, Ketan Pancholi, Benjamin Kühne, Alexander Dauth, Aidan P McKay and 3 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Pavel S Kulyabin *EaStCHEM, School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9ST, UK.
James Luk *EaStCHEM, School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9ST, UK.
Evgeny A UslaminInorganic Systems Engineering group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, Delft, HZ, 2629, The Netherlands.
Alexander A KolganovInorganic Systems Engineering group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, Delft, HZ, 2629, The Netherlands.
Garima SainiEaStCHEM, School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9ST, UK.
Raymundo Marcial-HernandezEaStCHEM, School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9ST, UK.
Ketan PancholiThe Sir Ian Wood Building, Robert Gordon University, Garthee Rd, Garthee, Aberdeen, AB10 7GE, UK.
Benjamin KühneCorporate Sustainability, Merck Group, Frankfurter Straße 250, Darmstadt, 64293, Germany.
Alexander DauthCorporate Sustainability, Merck Group, Frankfurter Straße 250, Darmstadt, 64293, Germany.
Aidan P McKayEaStCHEM, School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9ST, UK.
David B CordesEaStCHEM, School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9ST, UK.
Evgeny A PidkoInorganic Systems Engineering group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, Delft, HZ, 2629, The Netherlands.
Amit KumarEaStCHEM, School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9ST, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8175-8221

Funding

UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship MR/W007460/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We report here the upcycling of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) waste via semihydrogenation to make ethyl 4-(hydroxymethyl)benzoate. The reaction is catalyzed by a ruthenium pincer catalyst at 80 °C in bioderived solvents - a combination of 2-methyl THF and ethanol. A detailed mechanistic investigation through organometallic and kinetic studies, as well as chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) NMR spectroscopy, provides insights into the nature of active species and factors that promote and inhibit the catalytic hydrogenation of PET. Using this mechanistic knowledge, a record high turnover number of >30 000 was achieved for the hydrogenative depolymerization of end-of-life PET waste (e.g., bottles and textiles). The semihydrogenation product, ethyl 4-(hydroxymethyl)benzoate, was utilized to make precursors of various known pharmaceutical drugs, an agrochemical, as well as a new and recyclable polyester. A cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment demonstrated that using PET waste as a feedstock for EHMB production significantly reduces the environmental footprint compared to the conventional route from p-toluic acid.

Indexed as

HydrogenationPETPincerRecyclingRuthenium

Identifiers

PMID41410193
PMCPMC12850997

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.