塑料含有各种添加剂，例如填充剂，阻燃剂或色素。因此，很少有塑料能够回收，而不会造成性能或美学损失。A team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has designed a recyclable plastic that, like a Lego playset, can be disassembled into its constituent parts at the molecular level, and then reassembled into a different shape, texture, and color again and again without loss of performance or quality. The new material, called poly(diketoenamine), or PDK, was reported in the journal Nature Chemistry

伯克利实验室分子铸造的博士后研究员彼得·克里斯滕森（Peter Christensen）说：“我们发现了一种新的方式来组装塑料，从分子角度考虑回收。”

克里斯滕森（Christensen）是由伯克利实验室（Berkeley Lab）分子铸造厂的工作人员布雷特·赫尔姆斯（Brett Helms）领导的跨学科团队的一员。
从水瓶到汽车零件的所有塑料都由称为聚合物的大分子组成，这些分子由称为单体的较短含碳化合物的重复单位组成。

根据研究人员的说法，许多塑料的问题是，添加的化学物质使它们有用，例如使塑料坚硬或使塑料柔性的塑料变质的填充剂紧密地绑定到单体并在塑料中固定在塑料中it’s been processed at a recycling plant.
在与化学成分不同的回收混合塑料中，很难预测其将从原始塑料中继承的哪些特性。

Unlike conventional plastics, the monomers of PDK plastic could be recovered and freed from any compounded additives simply by dunking the material in a highly acidic solution. (Credit: Peter Christensen et al./Berkeley Lab)

This inheritance of unknown and therefore unpredictable properties is a challenge in recycling mixed plastic consumer waste. It is difficult to upcycle, to make a new, higher quality product.

Recycling plastic one monomer at a time

This time-lapse video shows a piece of PDK plastic in acid as it degrades to its molecular building blocks – monomers. The acid helps to break the bonds between the monomers and separate them from the chemical additives that give plastic its look and feel. (Credit: Peter Christensen/ Berkeley Lab)

研究人员希望通过激励塑料的恢复和再利用来将塑料从垃圾填埋场和海洋中转移，而从PDK形成的聚合物可能是可能的。赫尔姆斯说：“使用PDK，传统塑料的不变键被可逆键取代，允许塑料更有效地回收塑料。”

Unlike conventional plastics, the monomers of PDK plastic could be recovered and freed from any compounded additives simply by dunking the material in a highly acidic solution. The acid helps to break the bonds between the monomers and separate them from the chemical additives that give plastic its look and feel.

赫尔姆斯说：“我们对将塑料生命周期从线性重定向到圆形的化学感兴趣。”“我们看到有机会对没有回收选择的地方有所作为。”其中包括粘合剂，电话盒，手表，鞋子，计算机电缆以及通过成型热塑料材料而创建的硬汉。

当克里斯滕森（Christensen）将各种酸应用于用于制造PDK胶粘剂的玻璃器皿时，研究人员首先发现了基于PDK的塑料的令人兴奋的圆形特性，并注意到粘合剂的成分发生了变化。克里斯滕森（Christensen）用NMR（核磁共振）光谱仪仪器分析了样品的分子结构，对粘合剂的变化方式感到好奇。赫尔姆斯说：“令我们惊讶的是，它们是原始的单体。”

After testing various formulations at the Molecular Foundry, they demonstrated that not only does acid break down PDK polymers into monomers, but the process also allows the monomers to be separated from entwined additives.

下一个, they proved that the recovered PDK monomers can be remade into polymers, and those recycled polymers can form new plastic materials without inheriting the color or other features of the original material – so that broken black watchband you tossed in the trash could find new life as a computer keyboard if it’s made with PDK plastic. They could also upcycle the plastic by adding additional features, such as flexibility.

Moving toward a circular plastic future

PDK plastics are a “circular” material whose original monomers can be recovered for reuse for as long as possible, or “upcycled” to make a new, higher quality product. (Credit: Peter Christensen et al./Berkeley Lab)

研究人员认为，他们的新可回收塑料可能是当今使用许多不可回收塑料的好选择。

“We’re at a critical point where we need to think about the infrastructure needed to modernize recycling facilities for future waste sorting and processing,” said Helms. “If these facilities were designed to recycle or upcycle PDK and related plastics, then we would be able to more effectively divert plastic from landfills and the oceans. This is an exciting time to start thinking about how to design both materials and recycling facilities to enable circular plastics,” said Helms.

The researchers next plan to develop PDK plastics with a wide range of thermal and mechanical properties for applications as diverse as textiles, 3D printing, and foams. In addition, they are looking to expand the formulations by incorporating plant-based materials and other sustainable sources.

Source: LawrenceBerkeleyLaboratory

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