The non-degradable nature of petroleum-derived plastics causes serious environmental pollution
which has become a global public crisis. Hong and co-workers develop an effective and robust strategy utilizing isomerization-driven irreversible ring-opening polymerization (IROP) for converting "non-strained" five-membered
γ
-thionobutyrolactone into poly(
γ
-thionobutyrolactone) (PTBL). The IROP can be conducted at industrially relevant temperature of 80-100 ℃ and afford PTBL with high molecular weight
which is commonly inaccessible by the other polymerization methods. Different from most conventional ring-opening polymerizations
this IROP approach is thermodynamically driven by the S/O isomerization rather than the ring strain. PTBL can be easily degraded into non-strained
γ
-butyrothiolactone with added value
thus establishing a sustainable model for polymer recycling. PTBL exhibits a wide range of notable properties resembling commercial low density polyethylene
making it promising for many potential applications.