Acrylate and Methacrylate Polymers’ Applications: Second Life with Inexpensive and Sustainable Recycling Approaches

Polymers are widely employed in several fields thanks to their wide versatility and the easy derivatization routes. However, a wide range of commercial polymers suffer from limited use on a large scale due to their inert nature. Nowadays, acrylate and methacrylate polymers, which are respectively derivatives of acrylic or methacrylic acid, are among the most proposed materials for their useful characteristics like good biocompatibility, capping ability toward metal clusters, low price, potentially recyclability and reusability. Here, we discuss the advantages and challenges of this class of smart polymers focusing our attention on their current technological applications in medical, electronic, food packaging and environmental remediation fields. Furthermore, we deal with the main issue of their recyclability, considering that the current commercial bioplastics are not yet able to meet the global needs as much as to totally replace fossil-fuel-based products. Finally, the most accredited strategies to reach recyclable composites based on acrylic polymers are described.

Conversion of Plastic Waste into Supports for Nanostructured Heterogeneous Catalysts: Application in Environmental Remediation

Plastics are ubiquitous in our society and are used in many industries, such as packaging, electronics, the automotive industry, and medical and health sectors, and plastic waste is among the types of waste of higher environmental concern. The increase in the amount of plastic waste produced daily has increased environmental problems, such as pollution by micro-plastics, contamination of the food chain, biodiversity degradation and economic losses. The selective and efficient conversion of plastic waste for applications in environmental remediation, such as by obtaining composites, is a strategy of the scientific community for the recovery of plastic waste. The development of polymeric supports for efficient, sustainable, and low-cost heterogeneous catalysts for the treatment of organic/inorganic contaminants is highly desirable yet still a great challenge; this will be the main focus of this work. Common commercial polymers, like polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene therephthalate, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride, are addressed herein, as are their main physicochemical properties, such as molecular mass, degree of crystallinity and others. Additionally, we discuss the environmental and health risks of plastic debris and the main recycling technologies as well as their issues and environmental impact. The use of nanomaterials raises concerns about toxicity and reinforces the need to apply supports; this means that the recycling of plastics in this way may tackle two issues. Finally, we dissert about the advances in turning plastic waste into support for nanocatalysts for environmental remediation, mainly metal and metal oxide nanoparticles.

Identification and Characterization of Different Types of Plastics Wastes Using X-Ray Diffraction and X-Ray Fluorescence Techniques

In this study, different types of polymers in postconsumer plastics with pure plastics have been studied. Highdensity polyethylene (HDPE1 and HDPE2), polyvinyl chloride (PVC3 and PVC4), polyethylene terephthalate (PET5 and PET6), and polypropylenes (PP7 and PP8) were compared using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) techniques. XRF has shown the spectral in K-lines of polymer materials present in plastics waste. The peak intensity and degree of crystallinity of commercial polymers are varied using XRD analysis. The intensity not attributable to the crystalline peaks may be regarded as the amorphous scattering and used as a template in analyzing the diffraction pattern of the samples. The XRD analysis helps to provide characteristic spectral lines whose intensities vary with the type of each constituent polymer. The combined usage of XRD and XRF techniques yielded very useful and effective results for a commercial plastic management.

A Bioinspired Glycopolymer for Capturing Membrane Proteins in Native-Like Lipid-Bilayer Nanodiscs

ABSTRACTAmphiphilic copolymers that directly extract membrane proteins and lipids from cellular membranes to form nanodiscs combine the advantages of harsher membrane mimics with those of a native-like membrane environment. Among the few commercial polymers that are capable of forming nanodiscs, alternating diisobutylene/maleic acid (DIBMA) copolymers have gained considerable popularity as gentle and UV-transparent alternatives to aromatic polymers. However, their moderate hydrophobicities and high electric charge densities render all existing aliphatic copolymers rather inefficient under near-physiological conditions. Here, we introduce Glyco-DIBMA, a bioinspired glycopolymer that possesses increased hydrophobicity and reduced charge density but nevertheless retains excellent solubility in aqueous solutions. Glyco-DIBMA outperforms established aliphatic copolymers in that it solubilizes lipid vesicles of various compositions much more efficiently, thereby furnishing smaller, more narrowly distributed nanodiscs that preserve a bilayer architecture and exhibit rapid lipid exchange. We demonstrate the superior performance of Glyco-DIBMA in preparative and analytical applications by extracting a broad range of integral membrane proteins from cellular membranes and further by purifying a membrane-embedded voltage-gated K+ channel, which was fluorescently labeled and analyzed with the aid of microfluidic diffusional sizing (MDS) directly within native-like lipid-bilayer nano-discs.

Kinetic Modelling of Biodegradability Data of Commercial Polymers Obtained under Aerobic Composting Conditions

Methods to treat kinetic data for the biodegradation of different plastic materials are comparatively discussed. Different samples of commercial formulates were tested for aerobic biodegradation in compost, following the standard ISO14855. Starting from the raw data, the conversion vs. time entries were elaborated using relatively simple kinetic models, such as integrated kinetic equations of zero, first and second order, through the Wilkinson model, or using a Michaelis Menten approach, which was previously reported in the literature. The results were validated against the experimental data and allowed for computation of the time for half degradation of the substrate and, by extrapolation, estimation of the final biodegradation time for all the materials tested. In particular, the Michaelis Menten approach fails in describing all the reported kinetics as well the zeroth- and second-order kinetics. The biodegradation pattern of one sample was described in detail through a simple first-order kinetics. By contrast, other substrates followed a more complex pathway, with rapid partial degradation, subsequently slowing. Therefore, a more conservative kinetic interpolation was needed. The different possible patterns are discussed, with a guide to the application of the most suitable kinetic model.

Catalytic methods for chemical recycling or upcycling of commercial polymers

A review covering catalytic method development to enable efficient chemical recycling and upcycling of the most abundant commercial polymers.