The prevalence of plastics in almost every facet of the average person’s life has not only simplified day-to-day tasks, but also expanded to include products from a variety of industries. With the ever-growing usage of commodity plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the necessity to improve their end-of-life and recycling/reprocessing capabilities has become vital. One of the major hurdles in recycling of plastics is their rate and efficacy of depolymerization post-use. The same strengths of chemical and thermal resistance become a hindrance in the chemical recycling process. By integrating known, selectively degradable linkages pre-polymerization, the thermal and mechanical properties of polymers such as PET can be retained while allowing for an avenue for accelerated degradation post-use.<br/><br/>Acetals, ketals, and polyacetals are typically resistant to basic conditions and readily hydrolyze in acidic conditions. As such, the focus of this study is the integration of cyclic acetal-functionalized monomers into the backbone of PET chains to improve degradation capabilities under mild acidic hydrolysis conditions. The intent is to integrate a cyclic acetal linker into PET in the monomeric stage that yields minimal loss of optical, mechanical, and thermal properties post-polymerization. Quantification of the synthesis and incorporation of these acetal linkages through HNMR, DSC, and GPC as well as degradation studies allow for comparisons to both lab-made and commercial PET. Overall, the incorporation of cyclic acetal linkages through these monomers allows for improved chemical recycling or reprocessing capabilities, so further studies on its incorporation into the PET backbone and its overall degradability will be done to understand the efficacy of the acetal linkages.

Synthesis and characterization of polyacetal/polyethylene terephthalate copolymers for improved degradation and chemical recycling of polyethylene terephthalate

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ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.