Exploiting retro oxa-Michael chemistry in polymers

One way to obtain recyclable polymeric materials is to include reversible bonds in polymers. Herein, we study the reversibility of the oxa-Michael reaction, explore its scope and limitations in simple model systems and further in linear polymers and polymer networks. Results show that for the retro oxa-Michael reactions of sulfone, acrylate or acrylonitrile based adducts elevated temperatures (> 100 °C) and Brønsted bases (e.g. KOH) are needed. Alcohols in oxa-Michael adducts can easily be exchanged within minutes. Further, oxa-Michael polymers can be depolymerized into small fragments in presence of alcohols and show self-healing characteristics in networks.