School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
Macromol Rapid Commun. 2024 Oct;45(20):e2400358. doi: 10.1002/marc.202400358. Epub 2024 Jul 15.
The escalating demand for plastics has resulted in a surge of plastic waste worldwide, posing a monumental environmental challenge. To address this issue, a versatile photo-oxidative degradation method applicable to seven distinct polymer families is proposed, comprising poly(isobutyl vinyl ether) (PIBVE), poly(2,3-dihydrofuran) (PDHF), poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc), poly(n-butyl acrylate) (PBA), poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA), poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), poly(dimethyl acrylamide) (PDMA), poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate) (PEGMEA), and even poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). This method employs photo-mediated hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) followed by oxidation to promote polymer degradation. This reaction is carried out under aerobic condition in the presence of iron trichloride (FeCl) as a photocatalyst in combination with low-intensity purple light irradiation. The process can degrade up to 97% of the polymer in less than 3 h. This degradation process can be easily controlled by switching the light off, which allows for precise modulation of the degradation rate, enhancing the effectiveness of the method. Overall, this method provides a sustainable method for degrading various polymer types with low energy input.
不断增长的塑料需求导致了全球范围内塑料垃圾的激增，这构成了一个巨大的环境挑战。为了解决这个问题，提出了一种适用于七种不同聚合物家族的多功能光氧化降解方法，包括聚（异丁基乙烯基醚）（PIBVE）、聚（2,3-二氢呋喃）（PDHF）、聚醋酸乙烯酯（PVAc）、聚（正丁基丙烯酸酯）（PBA）、聚（甲基丙烯酸酯）（PMA）、聚氯乙烯（PVC）、聚（二甲基丙烯酰胺）（PDMA）、聚（氧化乙烯）（PEO）、聚（聚乙二醇甲醚甲基丙烯酸酯）（PEGMEA），甚至聚（甲基丙烯酸甲酯）（PMMA）。该方法采用光介导的氢原子转移（HAT）随后氧化来促进聚合物降解。该反应在有氧条件下进行，使用三氯化铁（FeCl）作为光催化剂，并结合低强度紫光照射。该过程可以在不到 3 小时内将高达 97%的聚合物降解。通过关闭光，可以很容易地控制降解过程，从而精确调节降解速率，提高方法的有效性。总的来说，这种方法为各种聚合物类型的低能量输入降解提供了一种可持续的方法。
