Facile Approach to Recycling Highly Cross-Linked Thermoset Silicone Resins under Ambient Conditions.

Silicone resins are traditional thermoset polymers with an inorganic backbone, affording chemical inertness and high thermal stability, which also makes them inherently difficult to recycle by traditional methods. Here, we demonstrate that catalytic amounts of fluoride ion at room temperature solubilize highly cross-linked silicone resins initially cured up to 250 °C. After solubilization equilibria are achieved, solvent is removed to reform the polymer network. Coatings on aluminum substrates and monoliths of virgin and recycled silicone resins were evaluated for hydrophobicity, wear resistance, substrate adhesion, and thermal stability. Silicones recycled under optimized conditions retained nearly 100% wear resistance, thermal stability, and adhesion properties. In some instances, the recycled coatings offer properties superior to the initial materials.

Introduction

Polysiloxanes (polyorganosiloxanes) are commonly referred to as silicones. Commercial silicones are used as fluids, elastomers, or in resin forms with properties based on structural differences that rely on various compositions of mono-, di-, tri-, and tetravalent units with the respective symbols and general formulas: M = R3SiO1/2, D = R2SiO2/2 (siloxane), T = R1SiO1/2 (silsesquioxane, SQ), and Q = SiO4/2.

Their low glass-transition temperatures, thermal stabilities, chemical inertness, and low coefficients of friction make silicones useful in many applications in the automotive, aerospace, cookware, and medical industries.[1] D units can be linked to form linear polysiloxane (silicones) as low to high molecular weight fluids. The R groups are typically methyl [most commercially useful silicone: poly(dimethylsiloxane), PDMS], phenyl, a mix of methyl and phenyl, a mix of methyl and hydrogen, a mix of methyl and alkyl, or trifluoropropyl.

Linear polysiloxanes with cross-linkable functional groups in the backbone or on the chain ends are cured to form silicone elastomers. Increasing cross-link densities increases moduli and hardness from soft gels to hard rubbers, which lead to very diverse applications. High thermal stability, hot air resistance, oxidative resistance, and flame retardancy make silicone elastomers ideal for tubing, gaskets, fixtures, sealants, and coatings in automotive and aerospace applications.[2−4]

Because of their physiological inertness, silicone elastomers are used in food contact applications as well as medical applications, such as prosthetics, implants, catheters, and heart valve seals.[5,6] Silicone elastomers exhibit strong adhesion to metal and glass substrates and provide a low surface energy, low friction, nonstick, hydrophobic surface suitable for applications in casting, mold making, mold release, water repellent coatings, antigraffiti coatings, cookware, and the paper industry.[7−9]

Unlike silicone fluids and elastomers, silicone resins also contain T and Q units. These tri- and tetrafunctional units create highly branched and cage-like networks with high cross-link densities, especially compared to silicone elastomers. Combinations of units are typically used to balance the properties. For example, pure T resins can be brittle, but adding D or M units increases elasticity and adhesion.[1] Silicone resins combine high temperature, oxidation, and UV stabilities, as well as resistance to acids, oils, and water, making them ideal for many coating applications, including release, hydrophobic, oleophobic, abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, anticorrosion, protective, decorative, insulating, antifouling, sealants, and paints.[1,7−9]

Many of silicone’s favorable properties are attributed to their robust inorganic siloxane backbones and cross-links. However, because thermosets do not melt like thermoplastics, it makes it much more difficult to recycle and reuse them. Thermoset polymer recycling is classified into three categories: mechanical, thermal, and chemical recycling. Mechanical recycling involves grinding the thermoset to a powder and using a low loading as filler in a chemically similar polymer, which often results in a reduction of mechanical properties.[10,11] Thermosets can be thermally recycled (burned) to generate energy and recover fillers, but the process is energy-intensive because of silicone’s high thermal stability and creates unwanted greenhouse gases.

Chemical recycling of silicones has focused on depolymerizing silicone fluids and cross-linked silicone rubbers into monomers that subsequently need to be repolymerized as a route to the only partial replacement of virgin materials. Early research focused on aminolysis to cleave Si–O bonds to create silylamines and alcohol.[12,13] Cast films of silicone rubber recycled in n-butylamine showed a 40% loss of tensile strength and 20% loss in percent elongation at break. Okamoto et al. explored alcoholysis of PDMS oils and cross-linked rubbers in a pressure reactor with the aid of metal halide catalysts and dimethyl carbonate.[14]

The metal halide polarizes the siloxane bond at the chain end as methanol attacks the Si–O to form methoxysilane and a shorter polysiloxane chain. Dimethyl carbonate reacts with the water co-product to form methanol and carbon dioxide. Depolymerization times are long because the reaction progresses only at the chain ends by cleaving one monomer at a time. The use of pressure reactors in bulk recycling is also an economical and scalability challenge.

Enthaler and co-workers used iron and zinc catalysts to activate Si–O bonds in PDMS and cleave them with benzoyl fluoride, benzyl chloride, or acetic anhydride to make silicon-containing monomers.[15−18] These depolymerization reactions typically require high temperature, high pressure, long reaction times, and produce acid by-products with low yields. The same researchers later used boron trifluoride etherate (BF3OEt2) to depolymerize PDMS at lower temperatures.[19,20] Large quantities of BF3OEt2 (0.75–2 equiv per polymer repeat unit) and complex isolation techniques were required to generate 75–87% yields of monomers, which require further reaction to become useful products.

Researchers have also built-in recyclable cross-links to polysiloxanes to promote decross-linking as opposed to depolymerization of siloxane units. Gou et al. modified tetramethyltetravinylcyclotetrasiloxane with furan by a thiol–ene reaction, forming thermally reversible cross-links via Diels–Alder reactions with bismaleimide.[21] Decross-linking took place at 120 °C via the retro Diels–Alder reaction, forming a liquid that was reshaped and cooled to a solid. The low decross-linking temperature may be useful in some applications but limits the thermal stability usually expected of silicones. Disulfide bonds with a dynamic covalent behavior incorporated into a silicone provide photoreversible cross-links (e.g., sunlight).[22] A mechanical property retention of ≈80% was achieved by first pulverizing the cross-linked silicone and then pressing and irradiating it for up to 48 h with a xenon lamp or natural sunlight. Both studies employed polymers structurally designed to be depolymerizable, limiting usefulness to niche applications and which did not address recycling common to the widely used silicones.

Presently, chemical recycling efforts with silicones has mainly focused on depolymerizing silicone fluids, linear silicones, and some cross-linked silicone rubbers into monomers that subsequently need to be repolymerized as a partial replacement for virgin materials.[12−22] Studies on recycling silicone resins directly are lacking. Silicone resins are more challenging to recycle than silicone rubbers because of the presence of T and Q units, which significantly increase the cross-link density compared to rubber elastomers. Reuse of the collected monomers requires traditional multistep silicone polymerization and curing techniques; thus, they require the same amount of energy, reagents, and so forth, as in the production of virgin silicones.

This type of downcycling usually reuses recovered materials in lower demand or lower value products. A chemical recycling approach for silicone fluids, rubbers, and resins that is low energy/cost with ≈100% yields and ≈100% retention of properties would be very attractive for the widespread silicone industry. More valuable yet would be to create a closed-loop recycling process, where the recycled silicone can be reused for the same application.

In the work reported here, traditionally difficult to recycle thermosetting silicone resins with a mixed phenyl/methyl functionality were recycled in one step by fluoride ion (F–)-catalyzed rearrangement at ambient temperature and pressure and showed near 100% retention of measured properties. Our research group has previously demonstrated F–-catalyzed rearrangement of polymeric SQs (or T resins), T8 SQ cages, or RSi(OEt)3 into T10 and T12 cages on removal of F–.[23−28]

These facile reactions occur at room temperature in THF with trace amounts of water and a F– source, such as tetrabutylammonium fluoride (nBu4NF, TBAF), and form discrete SQ cages. Furgal et al. have proposed possible mechanistic pathways for these F-mediated rearrangement reactions on the basis of exhaustive experimental analyses and modeling studies.[28] Rearrangement of T (and D and Q) silicon units involves complex and multiple intermediate processes, leading to equilibria among many intermediate species.[28] Reaction intermediates continue to reorganize and eventually lead to discreet cages with mixed functionalities upon fluoride removal. Recently, we reported that leaving F– in solution with D and T silicone units and removing the solvent generates random polysiloxane networks, forming hydrophobic and wear-resistant coatings with mixed functionalities on the basis of starting materials.[29]

In this work, we reintroduce F– to cured thermoset silicone resins to solubilize them in one step under ambient conditions, recast/recoat, and explore the influence of curing and recycling conditions on the wear resistance, adhesion, and thermal/oxidative stability of prime (virgin) and recycled resins. Thereafter, we discuss the process–structure–property relationships supported by morphological and compositional analyses.

Results and Discussion

Wear Resistance and Hydrophobicity versus Recycling Conditions

The silicone resin made from dodecaphenylsilsesquioxane (Ph-T12) and octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) has a 1 Me:1 Ph ratio and 2 T units:1 D unit. At this ratio of T:D units, the cross-link density of the resin is very high as each T unit creates a cross-link, especially compared to silicone rubber elastomers, with far fewer cross-linkable functionalities. Consistent solution concentrations (10 wt % silicone) in TBAF/THF ensured a uniform thickness of spray coatings on Al 2024 coupons. Monoliths of resin were cast and cured to produce enough material for recycling reactions (Figure d). The cured resin was insoluble in THF without an F– source. Dissolution time decreased with increasing [F–] and increased with increasing cure temperature. Wear resistance was evaluated by a linear abrasion test, where the change in water contact angle (WCA) is measured after 50 wear cycle increments (back and forth = one cycle) with a 100 g weighted 2000 grit sandpaper. All prime coatings had consistent initial average WCAs between 90 and 92° with little deviation (Figure a), but after 50–200 wear cycles, coatings cured at 150° and 200 °C had higher and more variable WCAs. The WCA increase, attributed to surface roughening from the sandpaper, indicates the coatings were not as hard and abrasion-resistant as the coatings cured at 250 °C, which exhibit steady and consistent WCA after 200 wear cycles. Higher cure temperatures possibly decrease plasticizing volatiles and increase cross-link densities as will be evidenced below.

Figure 1

WCA vs the number of wear cycles for (a) prime, (b) recycled (0.01 M TBAF/THF) silicone resin coatings cured at varied temperatures, and (c) varied [F–] to recycle silicone resins cured at 250 °C. (d) Silicone recycling loop.

Coatings made from silicone resins recycled in 0.01 M TBAF and then cured at 150 and 200 °C had higher increases in WCA upon wear testing (Figure b) compared to prime coatings, which suggests that the recycled resin is softer. The recycled resin coating cured at 150 °C had a WCA of 103 ± 3° after 100 wear cycles and then declined to 96 ± 7° after 200 wear cycles. The WCA of the recycled resin coating cured at 200 °C peaked at 117 ± 4° after 150 wear cycles before declining, which indicates the 50 °C increase in cure temperature produces a soft (roughenable) coating, but with a better cohesive strength.

Recycled resin cured at 250 °C offered consistent WCAs from 0 to 200 wear cycles and was similar to the 250 °C cured prime coatings. The 250 °C cure temperature is necessary to produce a harder silicone that does not easily roughen as exhibited by the consistent WCA after wear. SEM-EDS images of both prime (Figure a,b) and 0.01 M TBAF recycled (Figure i,j) resin coatings after 200 wear cycles show an intact and complete coating layer with no exposure of Al coupon substrate. Coating adhesion, measured by a cross-hatch score and tape peel adhesion test (ASTM D3359), for both prime (Figure c,d) and 0.01 M TBAF recycled (Figure k,l) resin coatings had the highest rating (5B), indicating excellent adhesion to the Al substrate. When cured at 250 °C, this model silicone resin forms a hard, adherent, wear-resistant, and hydrophobic coating that can be easily recycled and reapplied with retention of mechanical properties.

Figure 2

SEM-EDS images with inset WCA photos of silicone resin coatings cured at 250 °C after 200 wear cycles and cross-hatch tape adhesion tests: (a–d) prime and recycled in (e–h) 0.002, (i–l) 0.01, and (m–p) 0.1 M TBAF. Wear micrograph magnification 100×, scale bar 300 μm. Cross-hatch magnification 35×, scale bar 800 μm, EDS map: yellow = Si, blue = Al.

Figure c shows the influence of [F–] in the recycling solution on the wear resistance and adhesion properties of the silicone resin coating cured at 250 °C. Initial WCA on a coating of resin recycled in 0.01 M TBAF was similar to that of the prime coating. The coating of resin recycled with the highest [F–] solution, 0.1 M TBAF, was hydrophilic with an initial WCA of <90°. The coating was nonuniform (Figure S1a,b) with patches of Al substrate exposed and exhibited a significant loss of coating after 200 wear cycles (Figure m,n). The high [F–] could have resulted in the formation of many Si–F bonds in the polymer that readily convert to hydrophilic Si–OH in the presence of adventitious water and continually replenish as wear creates new surfaces. Formation of Si–F bonds would also prevent formation of Si–O3/2 or SQ linkages, thus reducing the cross-link density and wear resistance. F was not detected by EDS in any of the thin films or in monoliths of resin recycled with 0.002 or 0.01 M TBAF, but F was present in the monolith cast from resin recycled with 0.1 M TBAF solution (Figure S2). Thus, fluorine remains in the recycled resin, but under optimal recycling conditions, 0.01 M TBAF, the amount is too low to be detected by EDS.

Dissolution of resin cured at 250 °C was attempted in 0.001 M TBAF, but after stirring for 7 days, the solution remained cloudy with solids. After increasing the [F–] to 0.002 M TBAF, the solution became clear within 24 h, thus identifying the minimum threshold of F– necessary to disassociate the silicone network into soluble oligomers. The spray coatings from this minimum [F–] recycling solution are also nonuniform (Figure S1c,d), hydrophilic both initially and after 200 wear cycles (Figure c), and soft enough to roughen after 50 wear cycles as suggested by the WCA increase from 87 ± 2° to 106 ± 3°. An F– deficient system may lead to an insufficient number of reactive Si atoms necessary to reform the highly cross-linked network upon solvent removal, resulting in poor wear resistance (Figure e,f).

Thermal Stability

The thermal stability of the silicone resin, identified as the average temperature at 5% mass loss (Td5%) via TGA in air, increased with cure temperature (Figure a) to a maximum of 483 ± 7 °C when cured at 250 °C. Td5% of the resin cured at 200 °C was slightly lower, 470 ± 6 °C, but both resins exhibit two main mass losses between 400–575° and 575–700 °C, attributed to the methyl/phenyl groups and char, respectively. Resin cured at the lowest temperature of 150 °C had a 130 °C lower Td5% (353 ± 5 °C) because of a third mass loss below 400 °C attributed to volatiles, which were elucidated by GC–MS.

Figure 3

Typical TGA in air of (a) prime and recycled (0.01 M TBAF) silicone resins cured at different temperatures and (b) 250 °C cured prime and recycled silicone resins at different TBAF concentrations. Inset tables: comparison of thermal stabilities defined as temperature at 5% mass loss, Td5%. The error corresponds to the standard deviation of three experiments for each resin iteration.

A sample of silicone resin cured at 150 °C was heated to 200 °C in a closed thermal desorption system to evolve only the volatiles that would come off from increasing the cure temperature from 150° to 200 °C (Figure a), which were then injected into the GC–MS. The most abundant compound detected was tributylamine (413 ppm, 46% of total volatiles), which has a boiling point of 214 °C and is the main decomposition product of TBAF. The second most abundant compound was butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT, 123 ppm, 14% of total volatiles), which has a boiling point of 265 °C and was the inhibitor in the THF. These and other TBAF and BHT decomposition products accounted for >90% of the total volatiles detected. These by-products can act as plasticizing impurities that lower network integrity, cross-link density, thermal stability, wear resistance, and adhesion. Cyclic siloxane oligomers D3, D4, and D5, which are common silicone degradation products, were detected in small quantities totaling 2.5% of volatiles.

Figure 4

GC–MS of prime silicone resin (a) cured at 150 °C and tested at 150–200 °C and (b) cured at 200 °C and tested at 200– 250 °C to determine the volatile content at different cure temperatures.

Silicone resin cured at 200 °C was heated to 250 °C under similar conditions to evolve only the volatiles that would come off from increasing the cure temperature from 200° to 250 °C (Figure b), which were then analyzed by GC–MS. The total amount of tributylamine, BHT, and TBAF/BHT decomposition products decreased to 116 ppm, 86% less than the resin cured at 150 °C. Cyclic siloxane oligomer degradation products accounted for 10% of total volatiles. The primary compound detected was benzene (243 ppm), which accounted for 60% of all volatiles. Benzene was only detected from the resin on heating to 250 °C. A widely accepted free radical sequence first proposed by Sobolevski accounts for benzene evolution from mixed methyl/phenyl polysiloxanes.[31−33] Si–C scission generates a phenyl radical (C6H5) that abstracts a hydrogen from a methyl group to form benzene (boiling point = 80 °C). This also forms a methylene group that attacks another Si atom, creating a cross-link and displacing another phenyl radical. The process generates benzene while increasing the cross-link density. Continuation of the process creates degradation products of small sections of the silicone network like bis(di(trimethylsiloxy)phenylsiloxy)trimethylsiloxyphenylsiloxane (Figure b).

The Td5% increase from raising the cure temperature from 200° to 250 °C can be explained by the GC–MS findings of decreased total volatile species, increased cross-link density, and reduced organic content from benzene generation. Resins recycled with 0.01 M TBAF had nearly the same Td5% as the prime resin at a given cure temperature (Figure b), indicating no significant loss of thermal stability. GC–MS showed similar levels of volatiles in both the prime and 0.01 M TBAF recycled resins cured at 250 °C (Figure S3). However, the Td5% of silicone resin recycled with 0.1 M TBAF decreased 51°C to 432 ± 6 °C because of a mass loss event below 400 °C. This is attributed to the order of magnitude increase in TBAF concentration, which resulted in a five times increase in TBAF degradation products (Figure S4).

Recycling Commercial Silicone Resin

Optimized recycling conditions (0.01 M TBAF/THF at RT) were used to evaluate our technique on a commercial mixed phenyl/methyl silicone resin. SILRES REN 50 (Wacker Chemie) cured at 250 °C was stirred at RT in 0.01 M TBAF/THF until completely dissolved, which took 55 min. The cured resin is insoluble in THF alone as well as toluene and xylene. Solutions (10 wt %) of prime and recycled SILRES spray-coated on clean Al coupons and cured at 250 °C were tested for hydrophobicity, wear resistance, adhesion, and thermal stability. Initial WCAs for both coatings were 90°. After 50–200 wear cycles, the prime coating was roughened and then significantly worn away as indicated by the abrupt increase in WCA to 116 ± 4° after 50 cycles followed a decline (Figure a) and the large amount of substrate was exposed after 200 wear cycles (Figure d).

Figure 5

SILRES REN 50 coatings cured at 250 °C: (a) WCA vs wear; (b) typical TGA in air; (c–e) SEM images of prime coating after 0 wear cycles, 200 wear cycles, and tape adhesion test; (f–h) SEM images of recycled coating after 0 wear cycles, 200 wear cycles, and tape adhesion test; EDS map (magnification 27×, scale bar 1000 μm) of prime coating (i) before and (j) after rubbing half with 0.01 M TBAF solution. Wear micrograph magnification 100×, scale bar 300 μm. Cross-hatch magnification 35×, scale bar 800 μm, EDS map: yellow = Si, blue = Al. The error bars denote standard deviations obtained from three wear tests per coating.

The recycled SILRES coating showed little WCA change and less wear (Figure g) after 200 cycles. Coating adhesion of the recycled coating was equal to or better than the prime coating (Figure e,h). The thermal stability of the SILRES was 73 °C higher after recycling (Figure b). Mechanical and thermal property increases after recycling are attributed to the formation of a more cross-linked network as evidenced by the GC–MS spectra (Figure S5), showing less silicone network degradation products and the evolution of benzene due to cross-linking upon heating. Lastly, a cotton swab soaked in 0.01M TBAF was used to selectively remove a portion of cured SILRES (Figure i,j) to demonstrate the modification, patterning, and repair capabilities of our technique. Our technique also works for silicone rubbers, which is unsurprising because rubbers have lower cross-link densities than resins. A common room-temperature curing silicone rubber, ELASTOSIL E10 (Wacker Chemie), dissolved in less than 15 min when stirred in 0.01 M TBAF/THF.

Conclusions

Wear resistance, adhesion, and thermal stability of the methyl/phenyl silicone resin were maximized with curing at 250 °C. The cured resin was insoluble in THF and common silicone solvents (toluene, xylene), but in the presence of F–, all D and T units equilibrate to solubilize the resin in THF at room temperature. This solubility equilibrium provides the opportunity to add new silicone structural units and functionalities to the system if desired. The polymeric network then reforms on solvent removal.

Under optimized recycling conditions (0.01 M TBAF), second-generation coatings and monoliths retain mechanical and thermal properties. Room-temperature chemical recycling techniques for thermosets are rare and nonexistent for silicone resins with only catalytic amounts of reagent to the best of our knowledge. Furthermore, the process can be considered closed-loop because of the nearly 100% retention of wear and thermal properties, making it more sustainable than mechanical/thermal recycling or landfilling. Most importantly, we have shown our method not only works for a widespread commercial silicone resin, but preliminary data suggest the possibility of upcycling because of improved wear and thermal resistance after recycling.

Experimental Section

Preparation of Silicone Resin Coatings

Dodecaphenylsilsesquioxane (Ph-T12, 25.0 g, 16.13 mmol, made in-house), octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4, 7.18 g, 24.20 mmol, from Gelest, Inc.), and THF (321 mL, from VWR, used without purification) were added into a dry round bottom flask equipped with magnetic stirring. TBAF (5.0 mL, 1 M in THF, from Sigma-Aldrich) was added via syringe and stirred at RT for 4 days. The coating concentration was 10 wt %, the ratio of functional groups was 1 Ph:1 Me, and the ratio of T to D units was 2:1. All chemicals were used as received. All reactions were conducted at room temperature in the presence of air. Aluminum 2024 coupons (0.81 × 76.2 × 152.4 mm) cleaned with alumina slurry, rinsed with distilled water, rinsed with acetone, and dried with an air flow were spray-coated with a DeVilbiss gravity HVLP spray gun and cured at 150°, 200°, or 250 °C for 18 h.

Silicone Resin Recycling

Monoliths of the resin were cast from 10 wt % solutions in open aluminum dishes. The solvent was allowed to evaporate in a fume hood overnight followed by heating to 50 °C for 4 h, 100 °C for 4 h, and the final temperature (150°, 200°, or 250 °C) for 18 h. Cured resin pieces (2.0 g) were added into a dry round bottom flask equipped with magnetic stirring. TBAF/THF (18.0 g) solution at molar concentrations of 0.1, 0.01, or 0.002 M was added into the flask and stirred until all solids dissolved. Dissolution time in 0.01 M TBAF/THF increased with cure temperature from 150° (≈10 h), to 200° (≈18 h), to 250 °C (≈24 h). The dissolution time of 250 °C cured resin in 0.1 M TBAF/THF was ≈6 h. Resin recycling in a 0.001 M TBAF/THF solution was attempted, but after 7 days, the solution remained cloudy. The TBAF concentration was increased to 0.002 M, and the solution became clear in ≈24 h. Recycled resins were spray-coated as described above and cured to the same temperature, at which the prime cast monoliths were cured (150°, 200°, or 250 °C) for 18 h.

WCA Measurement

Droplets (10 μL) of distilled water pipetted onto a coated surface were photographed edge-on and measured with the aid of PowerPoint. WCA measurements were repeated on three different areas of each coating and reported as an average with standard deviation error bars.

Wear Resistance

A 25 × 75 mm strip of the coating was abraded by rubbing a 100 g weighted (2 kPa) piece of 2000 grit silicon carbide sandpaper back and forth at a rate of approximately 50 mm/s. A combined back and forth motion was considered one wear cycle, and WCAs were measured after 50, 100, 150, and 200 cycles. Wear tests were repeated on three different areas of each coating, and the average WCA was reported with error bars, indicating the standard deviation. Milionis et al. recently reported in a review that a linear abrasion test method had the most potential as a universal standard for testing the durability of superhydrophobic coatings.[30]

Tape Adhesion Test

Coating adhesion was evaluated according to ASTM D3359.

SEM-EDS

SEM was performed with a Hitachi S-3400N scanning electron microscope in variable pressure mode (15 Pa) with a backscatter electron detector set in composition mode and with an accelerating voltage of 5 and 10 kV for EDS with a Bruker Nano X-Flash detector (410-M).

TGA

Thermal stability was evaluated via a Q600 SDT simultaneous DSC/TGA instrument (TA Instruments Inc., New Castle, DE). Monoliths were prepared according to the same procedure described above for recycling. Samples (≈5 mg) were cut from the monoliths, loaded into alumina pans, and ramped at 10 °C/min to 1000 °C in an air flow of 100 mL/min.

GC–MS

All GC–MS analyses were done using a Thermo Scientific TRACE 1310 system equipped with a Thermo Scientific TG-5MS column (60 m length, 0.25 mm i.d., 0.25 μm film thickness, 5% diphenyl-/95% dimethylpolysiloxane stationary phase) and an ISQ LT single quadrupole mass spectrometer (electron impact ionization). Thermal desorption was performed using a CDS Analytical Pyroprobe 5000 with a Tenax TA trap by heating ≈15 mg samples at 10 °C/min to 50 °C above cure temperature and holding for 15 min.