Development of a reusable solid catalyst for hydrogenolysis of epoxy resins toward epoxy composite recycling

Environmental pollution caused by plastic waste is becoming increasingly serious, and recycling has become an important issue. Epoxy resin, a thermosetting plastic, is widely used in a variety of fields such as construction, electronics, aircraft, automobiles, and wind turbine blades typically in the form of fiber-reinforced plastics, but it is difficult to recycle and most of it is disposed of in landfills. Since the amount of fiber-reinforced plastic used is expected to increase in the future, establishing a method to recover fiber and resin raw materials from waste plastic is an urgent issue.

Now, a research group led by Associate Professor Xiongjie Jin and Professor Kyoko Nozaki has successfully developed a CeO₂-supported Ni-Pd bimetallic catalyst for the hydrogenolysis of amine or acid anhydride-cured epoxy resins to phenolic compounds. The catalyst was successfully applied to the decomposition of various epoxy composites such as carbon fiber-reinforced plastics and circuit boards to recover carbon or glass fibers and phenolic compounds. The catalyst can be easily recovered benefiting from its solid nature and reused several times with maintaining its high performance. As the demand for lightweight materials is growing, the findings in this study demonstrate the potential application of the present catalyst system for recycling of epoxy composites.

Papers
Journal: Nature Communications
Title: Bimetallic synergy in supported Ni-Pd catalyst for selective hydrogenolysis of C-O bonds in epoxy resins

Authors: Yanze Huang, Yukari Yamazaki, Katsutoshi, Nomoto, Hiroki Miura, Tetsuya Shishido, Xiongjie Jin*, Kyoko Nozaki*

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56488-4

UTokyoFOCUS | Press Release: https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/focus/en/press/z0508_00384.html