This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Silicones are widely used in industry, medicine and everyday products due to their exceptional thermal and chemical stability. However, it is precisely these properties that have made recycling silicones extremely problematic in the past.
Researchers at the Institute of Chemistry at TU Berlin have now succeeded in breaking down the polymer chains of silicone molecules into their basic building blocks. The resulting molecule dimethyldichlorosilane can then be reused as a starting material for the production of new silicone compounds. The process is based on a complex interplay of several chemical reaction cycles, and the researchers have now applied for a patent.
Martin Oestreich has successfully tested the process on various silicone products used in everyday life. Given its significance for green chemistry and the circular economy, the paper was selected by the journal Nature for fast-track online publication. Oestreich is also a member of the UniSysCat Cluster of Excellence specializing in catalysis at TU Berlin.
The market for silicone products is huge: In 2025, it totaled more than 21 billion euros, and analysts estimate it will exceed 33 billion euros in 2033. In addition to their thermal and chemical stability, silicones are also characterized by outstanding mechanical properties. Silicone also reliably repels water while allowing oxygen to pass through.
Silicones are found in many everyday products—from baking pans and baby bottle nipples to gaskets and medical tubing. "Its robust properties make recycling used silicone very difficult," says Oestreich, Einstein professor, head of the Organic Chemistry/Synthesis and Catalysis Group at TU Berlin, and a member of the university's UniSysCat Cluster of Excellence. "Until now, waste silicone has mostly been incinerated or sent to a landfill.
During recycling, the material is often mechanically processed or chemically broken down into smaller, ring-shaped siloxanes, which can then be used to produce new silicones. However, these are generally of lower quality than the original ones." On the one hand, the growing evidence that silicones disposed of in landfills can be harmful to the environment and human health makes their complete recycling an objective worth pursuing. On the other hand, producing silicones requires enormous amounts of energy.
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