Extended Data Fig. 2: The PET hydrolysis mechanism proposed based on experimental and DFT results.
From: Depolymerization of polyesters by a binuclear catalyst for plastic recycling
The mechanism highlights the importance of co-operative substrate-binding on the adjacent zinc sites and the subsequent formation of six-membered (Zn-O-C-O-Zn-μ2-O) intermediate. Ball-and-stick models are given near the corresponding skeleton formulas (green: Zn; blue: N; red: O; gray: C; white: H). Ethylene glycol dibenzoate (EGD) is employed as the ester substrate for simplicity. EGM and BzO represent ethylene glycol monobenzoate and benzoate, respectively.
