Article
Chemistry, Applied
Esun Selvam, Yuqing Luo, Marianthi Ierapetritou, Raul F. Lobo, Dionisios G. Vlachos
Summary: The accumulation of plastic waste in the environment is a significant threat to both the environment and human health. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), mainly found in single-use plastic bottles, contributes greatly to this waste. Current recycling strategies are not sufficient to address the global plastic waste problem. PET glycolysis shows promise as a depolymerization method, but finding effective and sustainable catalysts, as well as improving energy efficiency, remain challenges. In this study, we use microwave heating in PET glycolysis and identify ZnO as an excellent catalyst. We demonstrate how ZnO's particle size, facet, and hydrogen bonding affect its activity. We also show that ZnO-catalyzed glycolysis achieves high yields of bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) from real-world post-consumer PET waste in less than 10 minutes. Life cycle assessment indicates that BHET produced by ZnO-catalyzed glycolysis has lower global warming potential compared to petrochemical-based production and homogeneously-catalyzed glycolysis.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zishuai Wang, Yu Jin, Yaoqiang Wang, Zequn Tang, Shaojie Wang, Gang Xiao, Haijia Su
Summary: The accumulation of non-biodegradable plastics in the ecosystem has caused significant ecological pollution. This study presents an efficient glycolysis method for depolymerizing waste PET using cyanamide as a catalyst, resulting in the production of high-quality BHET products. The method shows great potential for addressing the issue of waste PET pollution.
ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Nayely Trejo-Carbajal, Karina I. Ambriz-Luna, Ana M. Herrera-Gonzalez
Summary: This study reports the degradation of PET using t-BuNH2/LiBr and t-BuNH2/NaCl catalytic systems through glycolysis and hydrolysis. The glycolysis reaction achieved quantitative yields with both conventional heat and microwave radiation, with the shortest reaction time using microwave radiation. In the hydrolysis reaction, the best catalytic system was t-BuNH2/NaCl, and quantitative yields were obtained within ten minutes. The catalytic system is efficient, yielding only the desired products without PET oligomers.
EUROPEAN POLYMER JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Paper & Wood
Der-Yun Cheng, I-Hsiang Liao, Jiashing Yu, Ying-Chih Liao
Summary: A rapid fabrication method was developed to prepare hydrogel structures with high mechanical strength and low attenuation coefficient for ultrasound scanning, providing high-quality ultrasound images.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Haozhou Jin, Wenqing Gao, Rong Liu, Jiaqian Yang, Shun Zhang, Renlu Han, Jing Lin, Sijia Zhang, Jiancheng Yu, Keqi Tang
Summary: This study successfully fabricated a novel hydrogel ZIF-8/SAP with high efficiency in capturing glycopeptides, exhibiting great selectivity, sensitivity, binding capacity, and reusability. Experimental results demonstrated the effective capture of glycopeptides from human serum samples, highlighting the potential of the novel ZIF-8/SAP hydrogel in glycopeptide enrichment and glycoproteomic research.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Yifan Liu, Longfei Cui, Hui Liu, Wenke Zhao, Yaning Zhang
Summary: With the rapid economic development, the recycling of PET plastic waste has become an important topic of environmental protection. This study focused on the microwave-assisted PET glycolysis and energy analysis, aiming to produce BHET as the target product from PET waste. The optimal conditions for this process were found to be a reaction temperature of 180 degrees C, a reaction time of 30 min, and a PET particle size of 75 mu m, resulting in high PET conversion rate and BHET yield.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL REACTOR ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yuqing Luo, Esun Selvam, Dionisios G. Vlachos, Marianthi Ierapetritou
Summary: The growing amount of plastic waste poses a threat to the environment. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is widely used in fibers and packaging, making it one of the most common plastics. Recent research has proposed chemical recycling and upcycling methods to produce valuable products from PET waste. This study evaluates the environmental and economic performance of various technologies, including microwave-assisted heterogeneous glycolysis, through techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment. The results show that the microwave-assisted glycolysis process can reduce production costs and emissions compared to traditional routes, making it an effective method for handling distributed PET waste.
ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Yonghwan Kim, Minjun Kim, Jeongwook Hwang, Eunmi Im, Geon Dae Moon
Summary: In this study, the optimal conditions for glycolysis of PET waste using biomass-derived catalysts were investigated using response surface methodology. The results indicated that the interaction effects of reaction temperature vs. time and temperature vs. mass ratio of the catalyst to the PET were more prominent in influencing the BHET yield.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Parisa Salimi, Abdolreza Aroujalian, Davood Iranshahi
Summary: This study applies an ecological and practical method for modifying the surface properties of polyethersulfone (PES) membranes using a corona-induced graft copolymerization technique. The modified membranes exhibit improved hydrophilicity, high flux, and high oil rejection, making them promising for industrial applications in separating oil-water emulsions.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yu-Cheng Chang, Yung-Chang Chiao, Po-Chun Hsu
Summary: In this study, In2S3 nanosheets, ZnS nanosheets, and ZnIn2S4 nanosheets with sulfur vacancies were synthesized using a facile and rapid microwave-assisted synthesis method. The ZnIn2S4 nanosheets showed a significant energy bandgap value of 2.82 eV and exhibited higher photocatalytic hydrogen production compared to In2S3 nanosheets and ZnS nanosheets under visible-light irradiation. Various factors were evaluated to determine the influence of ZnIn2S4 nanosheets on photocatalytic hydrogen production. The ZnIn2S4 nanosheets also demonstrated the highest photocatalytic hydrogen production from seawater, making it a promising catalyst for visible-light-driven hydrogen production.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Maria Gallegos, Walter G. Reimers, C. Romina Luna, Laura C. Damonte, Jorge Sambeth, Jorge Marchetti, Alfredo Juan
Summary: Using DFT calculations, the adsorption of PET on ZnO surfaces is studied. The incorporation of Co and Mn in ZnO surface affects its properties and has potential applications in catalysis and spintronics. The adsorption of PET results in surface reconstruction and changes in magnetic properties. The adsorption energy indicates that PET adsorption is more favorable on Mn-doped ZnO (000-1)-O than Co-doped.
MOLECULAR CATALYSIS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Zhongzheng Xu, Lin Li, Jiawei Liu, Caili Dai, Wen Sun, Jia Chen, Zhixuan Zhu, Mingwei Zhao, Hongbo Zeng
Summary: The study suggests that the construction of a stable hydrophilic polymer network can lead to a superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic membrane with advantages in oil/water separation. Experimental results show that membranes treated with aqueous solutions of polydopamine and catechol-functionalized hydrophilic polymer exhibit excellent performance in separating oil/water mixtures and emulsions, with potential applications in industrial wastewater treatment and beyond.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Xuhui Xia, Chung-Fu Cheng, Yu Zhu, Bryan D. Vogt
Summary: A simple microwave accelerated approach was used to generate high surface area, nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbons directly on a nickel foam framework, without the need for an inorganic template. This material showed stable performance as an electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction, making it a promising option for various applications.
MICROPOROUS AND MESOPOROUS MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Karzan H. Zangana, Antonio Fernandez, Justin D. Holmes
Summary: This paper reports a simple and efficient chemical recycling method for PET, using the environmentally friendly and cheap catalyst CaO and microwave irradiation. This method can achieve high yield of highly crystalline BHET in a very short time, and can realize the recycling and reuse of materials, showing great potential applications.
MATERIALS TODAY COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
K. Prabakaran, P. J. Jandas, Jingting Luo, Chen Fu
Summary: In this study, a molecularly imprinted L-Tryptophan sensor using hydrophilic PVDF was fabricated and its effectiveness was verified through qualitative and quantitative analysis. The molecularly imprinted material showed high selectivity and imprinting factor in sensor fabrication.
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS A-PHYSICAL
(2022)
