Scientific Achievement
Researchers in the CUP Program determined that a fractal treatment of operando MRI data provides new understanding of the nonlinear, time-dependent deconstruction kinetics of circular plastics.
Significance and Impact
Approach sheds light on the roles played by network architecture and reaction medium on depolymerization outcomes.
Research Details
- Compared acidolysis rates for varying crosslink densities of PDK elastomers in different reaction media
- Parameterized rate laws via fractal analyses
- Coupled MRI kinetics analyses with operando NMR measurements of relaxometry, diffusion, and tortuosity
- Provided physical interpretation linking molecular-scale chemistry to macroscopic outcomes of plastic recycling
Publication Details
S.N. Fricke, S. Haber, M. Hua, M. Salgado, B.A. Helms, J.A. Reimer, Science Advances (2024).
Work was performed in part at both the Molecular Foundry.