NATURE Publishes Groundbreaking Study on Waste Rubber Processing Technology
Date：2025/4/15
In the United States alone, over 274 million tires are discarded annually, with nearly one-fifth ending up in landfills. The accumulation of this waste not only poses spatial challenges but also environmental hazards, such as chemical leaching and spontaneous combustion. A recent study funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, titled "Rubber deconstruction by C–H amination and Aza-Cope rearrangement," was published in *Nature*. Led by Dr. Aleksandr Zhukhovitskiy, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Fellow, the research introduces a novel chemical approach to breaking down rubber waste. This groundbreaking technique employs C–H amination and polymer rearrangement strategies to transform discarded rubber into valuable epoxy resin precursors, offering an innovative and sustainable alternative to conventional recycling methods.
The researchers developed a sulfur diimide reagent capable of installing amine groups at specific sites along the polymer chain. This chemical reaction reorganizes the polymer backbone, breaking the rubber down into soluble amine-functionalized materials. When applied to waste rubber, the method achieved complete decomposition within just six hours, converting it into soluble amine-bearing compounds that can be used to produce widely useful materials like epoxy resins.
Compared to traditional recycling techniques, which often require extreme temperatures or expensive catalysts, this method stands out for its efficiency. The researchers achieved these results under mild conditions (35–50°C or 95–122°F) in an aqueous medium, making the process more environmentally friendly and cost-effective.
Beyond its practical applications, this study represents a significant step toward greener recycling technologies. The team evaluated the environmental impact of their process using the Environmental Impact Factor (E-factor), a metric that measures waste generated relative to product yield. While the overall E-factor, including solvent use, was high, the simple E-factor excluding solvents was considerably lower, highlighting areas where further optimization could enhance sustainability. The researchers are already exploring greener solvent systems and alternative reaction conditions to reduce waste generation.
“By leveraging the power of C–H amination and backbone rearrangement, this approach opens a new pathway for converting post-consumer rubber into high-value materials, reducing reliance on landfills and minimizing environmental harm,” said co-author Sydney Towell, a Ph.D. student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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