Polymer Innovation Lab

Our research on the room-temperature polymerization of ABS copolymers by Shijie Wu, Yao Fu, Soham Das, Miles P. Duan, and Tan Zhang was published and featured as the outside front cover in the latest issue of the RSC journal Reaction Chemistry & Engineering.

Polymer materials are ubiquitous in daily life. The global annual production of polymers is over 400 million tons. Most of the polymers were synthesized via a high-temperature reaction that consumes a tremendous amount of energy. In this paper, we reported a novel catalytic approach to allow radical polymerization initiated at oil-water interfaces at room temperature. The catalytic room-temperature polymerization not only reduces energy consumption but also provides a safer reaction path toward high-performance polymer materials. The link to the full paper can be found here.

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When producing a high-performance polymer, a narrow molecular mass distribution is desired. Currently, narrow molecular mass distribution is mainly achieved through controlled free radical polymerizations or living radical polymerizations. Compared with free radical polymerization, the experimental requirement and costs for conducting living radical polymerization are remarkably high. A robust, energy-efficient, and cost-effective technique for producing polymers with a narrow molecular mass distribution is important for green polymer industries.

Herein, we report using emulsion gels as polymerization media to produce vinyl homopolymers and copolymers with a narrow molecular mass distribution (PDI < 1.3) at room temperature (20 °C). The details can be found here.

Each year, at least 20 million tons of polymer materials are produced via emulsion polymerization. As a free radical polymerization technique, emulsion polymerization usually requires an elevated temperature for initiation. Considering the volume of polymer produced via emulsion methods, the energy consumed from these is enormous. The annual energy consumption for plastic production in the USA is about 6% of all the energy used by industries. A green polymerization should be conducted at ambient temperature to increase energy efficiency whenever possible, especially under the Paris Agreement.

The oil-water interfaces in emulsions were found to have catalytic activities for initiator decomposition. Interfacial catalysis allows radical polymerization to occur at room temperature. Both oil-soluble and water-soluble initiators can initiate polymerization in emulsions at room temperature with similar catalytic efficiency. Tuning on the emulsion structure can further enhance the catalytic effect to produce high-performance polymer and composite materials at ambient conditions.

Check our new review article on Polymer Reviews for details.