Recycling of Benzoxazine-Based Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers Via Catalytic Oxidation

Carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) are structural materials used in the automotive and aerospace industry due to their high specific properties; often outperforming their traditional metallic counterparts. However, there are no standard approaches for recycling end-of-life CFRP composite products or reusing scrap production waste. Current techniques involve pyrolysis or mechanical grinding of the CFRP, which lower the final thermomechanical properties of the recycled product. In this study, we propose a solvolytic approach to degrading a commercial blended benzoxazine/epoxy resin under mild conditions. The thermosetting resin is polymerized, characterized, and then catalytically de-polymerized via hydride abstraction with a ruthenium catalyst. These results pave the way for sustainable, low-cost recycling of CFRP composites.