Depolymerization of end-of-life poly(dimethylsilazane) with boron trifluoride diethyl etherate to produce difluorodimethylsilane as useful commodity

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

A straightforward protocol for the depolymerization of end-of-life poly(dimethylsilazane) using boron trifluoride diethyl etherate as depolymerization reagent to convert the Si-N to Si-F bonds was set-up. The application of the depolymerization reagent affords difluorodimethylsilane as major products, which can be a suitable synthon for the synthesis of new polymers (e.g., poly(dimethylsiloxanes) and allow an overall recycling of the [Me₂Si]-unit.

KEYWORDS:

• Polysilazane
• recycling
• depolymerization
• polymerization
• boron trifluoride

Funding

Funding Financial support from the Cluster of Excellence “Unifying Concepts in Catalysis” (funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and administered by the Technische Universität Berlin) is gratefully acknowledged.