A Multitool for Circular Economy: Fast Ring‐Opening Polymerization and Chemical Recycling of (Bio)polyesters Using a Single Aliphatic Guanidine Carboxy Zinc Catalyst

The Front Cover shows the material flows in a circular plastics economy and highlights the important role of catalysts in its future implementation. For this purpose, we present a zinc-based catalyst with a newly developed hybrid guanidine ligand. In the production of renewable polyesters our catalyst is highly active towards the ring-opening polymerization of lactide at various reaction conditions, outperforming the industrially used toxic catalyst tin octanoate. Moreover, it shows high activity in the chemical recycling of bio-based as well as petroleum-based polyesters. By using specific reaction conditions, the catalyst opens up the possibility to create new processes for the selective recycling from plastic mixtures. This multifunctionality makes our new catalyst a mediator of circular plastic flows and facilitates these material flows like a traffic circle.. More information can be found in the Research Article by M. Fuchs et al.

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