Sean R. Gitter, Cabell B. Eades, Megan E. Lott, Rhys W. Hughes, Austin M. Evans, Brent S. Sumerlin
Decarboxylation is an emerging strategy to remediate plastic waste. Herein, we discuss recent advances that leverage activated ester or carboxylic acid decarboxylation to deconstruct polymers. Specifically, we address state-of-the-art strategies that rely on thermolytic, photolytic, or electrolytic stimuli to induce decarboxylation. Throughout, we highlight the key advances of each report and provide our insight on future directions for the field. We anticipate that continued developments in the field will lead to strategies for the controlled deconstruction of versatile polymeric materials.