Award Ceremony & Mini Symposium | Prix Schläfli Chemistry 2025

Prix Schläfli Chemistry Laureate 2025

Hyun Suk Wang received his B.Eng and M.Eng in Chemical Engineering from Korea University. He then obtained his PhD at ETH Zurich under the supervision of Prof. Athina Anastasaki as a Swiss Government Excellence Scholar. During his PhD, Hyun Suk’s research revolved around the chemical recycling of polymers synthesized by controlled and free radical polymerization. Hyun Suk received his PhD in 2024 and is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the same group. He is the recipient of the Prix Schläfli in Chemistry, MatChem PhD Student Award, and ACS Global Outstanding Student & Mentor awards.

Lecture Tour

Dr. Hyun Suk Wang gave a presentation on "Chemically recycling plastics via depolymerization at sub-pyrolytic temperatures" at various institutions across Switzerland. Dates and times:

• Monday, 08.12.2025: EPFL. Hosts: Gregor Jotzu, Fabien Sorin & Esther Amstad
• Tuesday, 09.12.2025: University of Basel. Host: Christof Sparr
• Wednesday, 10.12.2025: University of Bern. Host: Berner Chemische Gesellschaft
• Thursday, 11.12.2025: University of Geneva. Hosts: Michel Rickhaus & Fabian von Rohr
• Monday, 15.12.2025: Empa Dübendorf. Host: Dorina M. Opris
• Tuesday, 16.12.2025: University of Zürich. Presentation including award ceremony. Host: Ilija Čorić

Abstract

The depolymerization of vinyl polymers is a promising approach to advance chemical recycling. However, conventional approaches involve extreme temperatures (typically >400 °C), leading to high energy consumption and side reactions. Here, we demonstrate a low-temperature approach for (1) the uncontrolled and controlled depolymerizations of polymethacrylates synthesized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization and (2) the depolymerization of commercial polymethacrylates (e.g. Plexiglas). These strategies not only enable mild chemical recycling but also offer valuable insight into polymer characterization.