Our society relies on three pillars—energy, water and food—for sustainability. The other component that is becoming an alarming issue, is plastic waste. All of these components are interrelated. For example, water is needed to produce food, and energy is needed to produce water. Food cost and food waste are challenging subjects that can be addressed by packaging, but packaging can be a major source of waste plastics. Polymer science plays a key role in addressing these global needs and maintaining the nexus of energy-water-food-waste.<br/>This presentation will focus on functional polymers which can offer solutions for these global needs. Some of the key application areas - polyamide membranes for water purification, specialty membranes for process solutions and fuel cell application and polar group modified compatibilizers for chemical upcycling, will be discussed. A major emphasis will be on how membrane chemistry can be tuned with different synthesis strategies for catering different application needs. The impact of fundamental understanding on structure-property-process relationship in developing technology solutions will also be showcased.

Functional polymers for sustainability

Where thousands of chemistry professionals meet to share ideas and advance scientific and technical knowledge. Spring 2023 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch at the end of March.

ACS Spring 2023

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