Metamorphosis of a Commodity Plastic like PVC to Efficient Catalytic Single-Chain Nanoparticles

Abstract

We perform the conversion of a commodity plastic of common use in pipes, window frames, medical devices, flexible hoses, etc. like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to single-chain nanoparticles (SCNPs). SCNPs are versatile, protein-mimetic soft nano-objects of growing interest for catalysis, sensing, and nanomedicine, among other uses. We demonstrate that the metamorphosis process -as induced through metal-free click chemistry- leads to well-defined, uniform SCNPs that are stable during storage in the solid state for months. All the conversion process (from PVC isolation to PVC-SCNPs synthesis) can be run in a green, dipolar aprotic solvent and involving, when required, a simple mixture of ethanol and water (1/1 vol.) as non-solvent. The resulting PVC-SCNPs are investigated as recyclable, metalloenzyme-mimetic catalysts for several representative Cu(II)-catalyzed organic reactions. The method could be valid for the metamorphosis and valorization of other commodity plastics in which it is feasible to install azide functional groups in their linear polymer chains.