The new process could advance a lean system of polymer manufacturing and reuse known as the circular plastic economy.
Lignin is probably the most abundant component of biomass that most people have never heard of.
Many people are familiar with its biochemical cousin cellulose, a by-product of paper and wood milling. Estimated. When distilled, 98% of his inked liquid is burned to generate electricity.
Scientists are working to find more efficient and sustainable approaches to transforming this naturally occurring polymer for use as a cleaner, greener building block to develop next-generation materials. I have been working on it.
Chemists at Boston College have developed an approach that uses light to convert lignin into sustainable plastics, the team recently reported in ACS Central Science.
“We have developed a catalyst that can selectively degrade specific chemical bonds in lignin such that when lignin is exposed to light, it is converted into intermediate-sized soluble molecules called oligomers,” said a co-author of the study.
The team then converted the oligomers into sustainable plastics by reacting them with a molecular glue called a crosslinker, according to the report. Due to the unique chemical structure of the catalyst-generated oligomers, plastics produced in this way can be chemically degraded back to oligomers and reformed from the oligomers and the crosslinker.
The findings advance a potential strategy for a lean system of polymer manufacturing and reuse, known as the circular plastic economy, said report co-authors Margaret A. and Thomas A. Vanderslice Chemistry of Boston College. Chairman Dunwei Wang said.
“The transition from petroleum to biomass as a feedstock for energy and materials production will help address some of the most important challenges facing our society, such as climate change and plastic pollution,” Wang said. “New ways to make advanced materials from lignin will greatly improve the efficiency of biomass utilization,” he said.
Wang and Niu share an interest in creating sustainable materials, and based on Wang’s expertise in using photocatalysts to drive chemical transformations and Niu’s research in creating recyclable polymers, this You’ve reached the project.
“The pleasant surprise was the level of control we were able to exert in degrading lignin, a biopolymer that is notoriously difficult to degrade,” said Wang. “This level of control opens the door for downstream applications.”
The research team aims to further develop new methods of converting lignin into sustainable plastics that can be easily recycled by chemical means.
Original: Researchers use light to transform abundant lignin into continuously recyclable plastic
Than: boston college
