Depolymerization of Poly(α-methylstyrene) with Ball-Mill Grinding
발표자
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초록
내용
Ball-mill grinding (BMG) is a method that is more commonly being used for polymerization, but depolymerization with BMG has not been well-studied so far. Herein, we highlight that BMG is an efficient method to depolymerize poly(α-methylstyrene) (PMS). First, we optimized the BMG system that 55% of polymer depolymerizes to α-methylstyrene (MS). Also, based on empirical evidence and DFT calculations, the mechanism was proposed as mechanoradical formation via PMS chain scission, followed by thermal radical depolymerization. For instance, the generation of fluorescent diarylacetonitrile radical supported the mechanoradical formation. Lastly, we further compared the depolymerization efficiency of PMS with polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) to show that the low ceiling temperature is essential for driving the depolymerization.