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48

nanotimes

News in Brief

10-03 :: March 2010

Cleantech //

New Types of Biodegradable, Biocompatible Plastics

M

atthew K. Kiesewetter, Eun Ji Shin, James L. Hedrick and Robert M. Waymouth from IBM

Almaden Research Center in San Jose, USA, IBM (NYSE: IBM), and Stanford Uni- versity have published a paper that could lead to the develop-

ment of new types of biodegra- dable, biocompatible plastics.

The result of a multi-year research effort, the breakthrough also could lead to a new recycling process that has the potential to significantly increase the ability to recycle and reuse common PET and plant-based plastics in the future. The paper outlines how and why organocatalysis provides new opportunities for the preparation of sustainable plastics. Through the introduc- tion of organic catalysis to synthetic polymer chemi- stry, scientists have developed a broadly applicable technology with demonstrations in a diverse range of polymerization techniques and monomer types. A major focus of their efforts has been on ring-opening polymerization, a strategy dominated by metal oxide or metal hydroxide catalysts. They have shown that organic catalysts both exhibit activities that rival the most active metal-based catalysts, and provide access to polymer architectures that are difficult to access by conventional approaches.

The paper outlines the development of several new

families of highly active, environmentally benign organic catalysts for the conversion of renewable resources to products that exhi- bit cost/performance characteri- stics comparable to existing ma-

terials. The paper also describes recycling or degradation strate- gies that would enable a “closed- loop” life cycle for materials that meet the needs of the market- place while helping to minimize the environmental footprint left for future generations. Additio- nally, the team has developed a new strategy for the synthesis of high molecular weight cyclic polyesters and the generation of new families of biocompatible polymers.

Matthew K. Kiesewetter, Eun Ji Shin, James L. Hedrick and Robert M. Waymouth: Organocatalysis: Opportunities and Challenges for Polymer Synthesis, In: Macromolecules, Vol. 43(2010), Issue 5, March 9, 2010, Pages 2093-2107, DOI:10.1021/ma9025948: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ma9025948

Image: Jim Hedrick, a researcher at IBM’s Research facility in San Jose, CA, works on new formulas that could make it easier to recycle the 13 billion plastic bottles disposed of each year globally. © Monica M. Davey/IBM Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69