" The idea to convert existing thermosets into vitrimers is very appealing, " says Tanja Junkers.

“将现有的材料转化为 vitrimers 的想法非常有吸引力， ” Tanja Junkers 说。

Some other polymers like polyurethane or Bakelite are thermoset.

其他一如氨酯或电木是的。

" You have thermosets in cars. You have thermosets in buildings" .

“汽车中有材料。 建筑中有材料” 。

So far, though, there's no way to recycle what's known as thermoset plastics.

不过，到目前为止， 还没有办法回收所谓的塑料。

Polyethylene can actually be converted into a thermoset polymer by introducing cross-links, basically molecular bridges between those polymer chains.

乙烯实际上可以通过引入交联转化为，基本上是这链之间的分子桥。

The team combined bits of one type of thermoset plastic with a tiny amount of a zinc-based compound.

该团队将一种塑料的碎片与少量锌基化结在一起。

Some vitrimer plastics might even perform better than the original thermosets for some uses.

对于某用途， 一 vitrimer 塑料甚至可能比原来的塑料表现得更好。

" Most of the plastic components in an aircraft are thermoset materials, " says Ica Manas-Zloczower.

“飞机中的大部分塑料部件都是材料， ” Ica Manas-Zloczower 说。

A similar approach can work for other types of thermoset plastics, too, Manas-Zloczower says.

Manas-Zloczower 说， 类似的方法也适用于其他类型的塑料。

Last year, Manas-Zloczower and Liang Yue, also at Case Western, were part of a team that developed a process to convert thermoset plastics into such vitrimers.

去年，同样在 Case Western 的 Manas-Zloczower 和 Liang Yue 所在的团队开发了一种将塑料转化为此类 vitrimer 的工艺。