Synthesis of high molar mass branched polystyrene from regenerated low purity styrene
발표자
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초록
내용
Polystyrene (PS) is one of the most widely used polymers due to its beneficial properties such as thermal stability and moldability. However, its practical recyclability is hindered by low density, stable aromatic structure, and the presence of addtivies. Here, post-consumer PS waste was depolymerized through catalytic pyrolysis, yielding low purity (~74 %) styrene mixture. High molar mass is key parameter to achieve desirable physical properties for practical applications; however, it is very challenging when using low purity monomer. In this regard, we emplolyed branching strategy by incorporating styrene-like difunctional monomer, divinyl benzene, to achieve a molar mass comparable to that of commerical PS. In addition, we investigated the effect of each impurities on polymerization kinetics and thermodynamics by systematical impurity additions and kinetic studies. We believe this research contributes to the development of a closed-loop chemical recycling cycle of polystyrene.