Anhydrides are used in creating covalent adaptable networks for recycling thermosets and plastic wastes, yet their bond exchange mechanism is not fully understood. Herein, the authors elucidate this mechanism under uncatalysed and acid-catalysed reaction conditions using density functional theory, revealing that acid catalysis can reduce the bond exchange barrier at lower temperatures.
- Xinglong Zhang
- Qiubo Chen
- Jianwei Zheng