Strategies to Make Polymers Sustainable

Dear Colleagues,

Among all chemical productions, polymers account for the largest percentages. They are currently manufactured at a rate of around 400 Mt annually, which shows a dramatic increase trend year by year. Unfortunately, most of the currently available polymers are produced from petroleum-based feedstocks, which are nonrenewable. On the other hand, the burden on the environment caused by waste polymers is becoming increasingly severe. In order to meet the requirements of the sustainable development goals, several important strategies to address these issues have emerged. Firstly, turning to carbon dioxide utilization technologies is a versatile tool used to replace virgin petrochemical feedstocks, either directly achieved by CO₂-based chemistries or through biomass upgrading. Secondly, developing some green synthetic systems, such as molten salts, deep eutectic solvents, ionic liquids, and high-performance catalysts, has demonstrated great promise in the realization of energy efficiency during the production of polymers. Thirdly, the reuse/recycle of end-of-life polymers should be fully considered, endowing post-consumed polymers with reuse and/or recycle properties. Last but not least, artificial intelligence and machine learning offer versatile tools for scientists and engineers to design, synthesize, and predicate the properties of polymers to meet the requirements of sustainable development.

Considering the above context, we propose the launch of this Special Issue (strategies to Make Polymers Sustainable) of Polymers, where we aim to provide a platform to show the latest breakthroughs in sustainable polymers. Both original research and review articles are welcome to be submitted to this Special Issue. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Copolymerization of CO₂ with olefins;
• Ring-opening copolymerization of cyclic epoxide and CO_2;
• Green synthetic approaches to polymers;
• Lifecycle analysis of polymers;
• Utilization of post-consumed polymers;
• Treatment of end-of-life polymers;
• Machine learning in sustainable polymers.

Dr. Maiyong Zhu
Guest Editor

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• bio-based polymer
• recycling and reuse of polymers
• machine learning
• lifecycle analysis
• green synthetic approach