Core Insights - The research team from Dalian University of Technology has achieved a breakthrough in the uniform distribution of carbonyls in polyketone chains, enabling "customized" material properties and efficient compatibility between polyethylene and nylon, paving new paths for mixed plastic recycling [1][2] - Over 300 million tons of plastic waste are generated globally each year, with polyethylene and nylon being difficult to recycle together due to their differing chemical properties, often ending up in landfills or oceans [1] Group 1 - The study reveals the phase evolution mechanism between non-polar polyethylene and polar alternating polyketone, breaking the limitations of traditional alternating copolymerization [2] - The non-alternating structure is shown to be a new dimension for performance regulation, akin to building a molecular zipper bridge between polyethylene and nylon, allowing them to "shake hands" at the interface [2] - The non-alternating copolymerization reaction is a homogeneous polymerization process, avoiding issues related to slurry polymerization reactors, and making metal catalysts easier to recover and industrially scalable [2] Group 2 - The research received support from the National Natural Science Foundation's integrated project, Dalian Municipal Science and Technology Innovation Fund for applied basic research, and the Ministry of Education's Frontier Science Center for Intelligent Materials and Chemical Engineering [2]