The cross-linked nature of vulcanized rubbers as used in tire and many other applications prohibits an effective closed-loop mechanical or chemical recycling. Moreover, vulcanization significantly retards the material’s biodegradation. Here, we report a recyclable and biodegradable rubber that is generated by the vulcanization of amorphous, unsaturated polyesters. The elastic material can be broken down via solvolysis into the underlying monomers. After removal of the vulcanized repeat units, the saturated monomers, constituting the major share of the material, can be recovered in overall recycling rates exceeding 90%. Respirometric biodegradation experiments by ¹³CO₂ tracking under environmental conditions via the polyesters’ diol monomer indicated depolymerization and partial mineralization of the vulcanized polyester rubbers.

中文翻译：

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可化学回收和可生物降解的硫化橡胶

用于轮胎和许多其他应用的硫化橡胶的交联性质阻碍了有效的闭环机械或化学回收。此外，硫化显着延缓了材料的生物降解。在这里，我们报告了一种可回收和可生物降解的橡胶，它是由无定形不饱和聚酯硫化产生的。弹性材料可以通过溶剂分解分解成底层单体。去除硫化重复单元后，构成材料主要份额的饱和单体可以回收，总体回收率超过90%。在环境条件下通过聚酯二醇单体进行¹³ CO ₂追踪的呼吸生物降解实验表明，硫化聚酯橡胶发生了解聚和部分矿化。