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From Thioether to Sulfone: Transforming Polyester Properties for Enhanced Degradation
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Researchers modified polyester chemistry by converting thioether groups to sulfone groups, finding that this transformation significantly altered polymer degradability and mechanical properties, offering a route to designing plastics with enhanced end-of-life breakdown.
The escalating issue of plastic pollution, primarily due to plastic waste mismanagement and microplastic leakage, highlights the need for biodegradable polymers. However, the slow degradation rates of these materials in the environment necessitate innovative solutions for accelerating their breakdown. In this study, poly(benzenedimethylene succinate)-co-poly(benzenedimethylene thioglycolate) (PBDMS-co-PBDMTG) polyesters were synthesized with varying amounts of sulfur in a low oxidation state (thioether form), at molar ratios of PBDMS-co-PBDMTG: 76:24, 56:44, and 25:75, as confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). The thioethers were converted into hydrophilic poly(sulfone-esters) (with the contact angle reducing from 80° for poly(thioether-ester) to 43° for poly(sulfone-ester)). This transformation, coupled with a decrease in crystallinity and the introduction of electron-withdrawing sulfone groups, led to ultrafast degradation kinetics both under basic conditions and in compost. The degradation rates were significantly different; poly(thioether-esters) showed a mass loss of 9–19 mg/day, while poly(sulfone-esters) exhibited a dramatic increase in mass loss, ranging from 2318 to 430 mg/day, depending on the sulfur content. This study demonstrates the potential for the use of poly(sulfone-esters) as fast-degrading polymers for different applications.
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Are Electron-Withdrawing Groups Affecting Polyester Hydrolysis? A Comprehensive Study on Poly(thioether-ester)s and Poly(sulfone-ester)s
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Researchers investigated whether incorporating electron-withdrawing sulfone groups into polyester polymers could accelerate their hydrolysis and biodegradation, addressing the challenge of microplastic accumulation. Through a combination of model compound experiments and polymer studies, the study found that sulfone groups do enhance ester hydrolysis through inductive effects, offering a potential strategy for designing plastics that break down more readily in the environment.
Enhancing environmmental biodegradation of polyesters
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Researchers investigated strategies to enhance the environmental biodegradation of polyester-based packaging polymers, proposing two pathways: a smart material design concept that incorporates degradation-facilitating additives, and an enzymatic approach using engineered polyesterases. The work addresses the practical challenge that biodegradable polyesters degrade too slowly under real environmental conditions, generating persistent microplastic fragments, and aims to close this gap between certified biodegradability and actual environmental breakdown.
Designed to Degrade: Tailoring Polyesters for Circularity
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This review explores molecular design of polyesters engineered for mechanical recycling, chemical depolymerization, or biodegradation, including hydrolyzable bonds, dynamic linkages, and embedded enzymes.
Environment-friendly transesterification to seawater-degradable polymers expanded: Computational construction guide to breaking points
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Researchers used computational modeling to design a guide for identifying hydrolysis-susceptible 'breaking points' in polyester structures, expanding the toolkit for creating seawater-degradable polymers through environment-friendly transesterification as an alternative to conventional non-biodegradable marine plastics.
Biodegradation behavior of polyesters with various internal chemical structures and external environmental factors in real seawater
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Researchers tested how different types of biodegradable polyester plastics break down in real ocean conditions off the coast of South Korea. They found that the chemical structure of each polyester, particularly its crystallinity and glass transition temperature, significantly influenced how quickly it degraded. The study provides practical guidance for designing biodegradable plastics that will actually break down effectively in marine environments.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.