Acetal-linkages enabled eco-design of recyclable silicone materials

The chemical inertness and cross-linked nature of high-performance silicone materials pose significant challenges for end-of-life management, driving the search for rational design strategies to enable their recyclability. Herein, we report a chemical recycling platform enabled by the strategic incorporation of hydrolytically labile acetal linkages into organosilicon architectures via hydroxyl–vinyl ether acetalization. This approach facilitates the synthesis of a diverse library of functionalized silicone materials, ranging from disiloxanes and linear polysiloxanes to block copolymers and cross-linked networks. These acetal-containing systems undergo rapid and selective acid-catalyzed depolymerization under mild conditions. Crucially, the recovered organosilicon components are directly reused to synthesize new polymers with properties comparable to the virgin materials. By integrating modular synthesis with efficient chemical recycling, this work presents a generalizable eco-design paradigm for enhancing the sustainability of organosilicon polymers.