Materials from waste plastics for CO₂capture and utilisation

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities have resulted in sustained increase in atmospheric CO2 levels over the past 200 years. To mitigate this, materials capable of capturing or chemically transforming CO2 have received tremendous...

Transforming Polyethylene into Water-Soluble Antifungal Polymers

“…Their demand is expected to remain unabated for the foreseeable future due to their low cost and favorable properties, such as high ductility, excellent thermal stability, and chemical resistance, making them popular for diverse applications ranging from packaging materials to medical devices. In recent years, post-synthetic modification of such commodity polymers has gained research traction to expand their property profiles for specialty applications. , Despite an emerging strategy for upcycling post-use plastics into new functional materials, − the post-synthetic functionalization of PE with reactive functional groups is challenging and often requires harsh reaction conditions owing to their unreactive C–C and C–H bonds. Processes such as γ-irradiation and reactive extrusion , generate reactive radical intermediates in situ that often lead to polymer chain scission or crosslinking, thus compromising the mechanical properties of the polymer.…”

Synthesis, Characterization, and Gas Adsorption Performance of Amine-Functionalized Styrene-Based Porous Polymers

“…Considering the direction of society towards a circular economy of materials, the use of plastic waste as a source of functional materials for various applications has become an important challenge for the future [ 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”

“…Polystyrene-based polymers form a significant part of waste polymers because polystyrene is a cheap polymer precursor for the preparation of HCLPs [ 12 , 25 ]. Owing to the minimal biological degradation of polystyrene in nature [ 22 ], it causes many ecological problems; therefore, methods for its re-use should be investigated.…”

“…Furthermore, an increased affinity of PS for CO 2 compared to N 2 or CH 4 can be expected owing to the dipole interactions of phenyl groups containing π-electrons with quadrupolar CO 2 . Therefore, HCLPs based on PS and their amine group-modified forms have recently been investigated as efficient and low-cost CO 2 adsorbents [ 12 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ]. For example, Fu et al [ 27 , 28 ] synthesized several types of HCLPs from waste expanded PS using different cross-linking agents; the best achieved CO 2 absorption was 2.5 mmol g −1 and CO 2 /N 2 separation efficiency of 38 at 273 K. The cross-linking of aromatic polymers was found to improve the textural properties of the prepared materials and enhance their CO 2 adsorption capacity [ 28 , 33 , 34 , 35 ].…”

Upcycling waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) into polymer electrolytes

“…In contrast, plastic upcycling transforms low-value waste polymers into chemicals and materials of higher value. [10][11][12][13][14][15] PET has been upcycled into small molecules which can be used as solvents and reagents for the chemical industry, 16 including the production of new polymers such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), 17 as well as porous materials for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) capture 18 and utilisation. 19 Recently, with growing interest in developing sustainable materials for energy storage applications to meet ever-increasing global energy demands, 20 upcycling of post-consumer plastics into energy storage materials is expected to be of growing importance.…”