Catalytic approaches to the recycling of carbon fibre reinforced composite materials

碳纤维增强复合材料是从航空航天到汽车等轻量化应用的现代材料选择。但这类材料面临的一个挑战是生命周期的结束。材料本身的性质使这一点通过物理方法变得特别困难。该项目旨在开发新的催化方法来消化复合材料的热固性聚合物基质，使纤维可以回收，基质消化产品可以在循环经济的背景下重复使用。最初的目标将集中在模型底物上，在那里可以评估在关键的C-O和C-N键断裂反应中均相催化剂的性能。我们将把最有希望的系统用真正的复合材料进行进一步的研究。

Carbon fibre-reinforced composites are the modern materials of choice for lightweight applications, ranging from aerospace to automotive. But a challenge with such materials is end of life recycling., the nature of the materials themselves making this particularly difficult by physical methods. This project aims to develop new catalytic methods to digest the thermoset polymer matrices of composites, allowing fibre to be recovered and the matrix digestion products to be reused in a circular economy context. Initial objectives will focus on model substrates where the performance of homogeneous catalysts in the crucial C-O and C-N bond breaking reactions can be assessed. We will them take the most promising systems for further investigation with real composite materials.