CAS-MNP: Degradation of Plastics in the Environment: Decoupling the Roles of Polymer Type, Material Attributes, and Chemical Additives

在化学系环境化学科学(ECS)项目的支持下，马萨诸塞大学洛厄尔分校的严伟乐和玛格丽特·索布科维奇·克莱恩将研究塑料的环境降解行为。特别是，将调查聚合物性能、添加剂配方及其降解之间的因果联系。该项目将应用跨学科方法来研究塑料污染物在环境中的转化。该项目旨在评估现有塑料污染物的长期去向，并为未来塑料设计和加工战略提供信息，以最大限度地减少环境积累。PIs将通过专门的学者和培训计划以及综合的实验室和现场学习经验，吸引学院不同的学生群体。该项目还将促成一个社区服务项目，以提高公众对梅里马克河流域和毗邻沿海环境中塑料污染物的当地和区域来源的认识。现有的关于微塑料的研究揭示了塑料在自然环境中破碎的重要性。然而，不同塑料材料的性能及其加工历史，包括抗氧化剂和紫外线稳定剂等常见添加剂的存在，对塑料降解和碎裂的影响在很大程度上尚未被探索。将制备具有良好控制特性和添加剂配方的塑料材料，以便开展系统调查，以研究聚合物类型、颗粒大小和形状以及添加剂化学对塑料老化和碎裂的影响。对实验室和现场采集的样品进行表征，以确定聚合物和表面化学、机械强度和添加剂损失的变化，结合对碎裂潜力的定量分析，预计将产生对微/纳米塑料(MNP)在环境中形成的新的机械学见解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With support from the Environmental Chemical Sciences (ECS) Program of the Division of Chemistry, Weile Yan and Margaret SobkowiczKline from the University of Massachusetts Lowell will investigate the environmental degradation behavior of plastics. In particular, the causal links between polymer properties, additive formulations, and their degradation will be investigated. This project will apply interdisciplinary approaches to study the transformation of plastic pollutants in the environment. The project aims to enable assessment of the long-term fate of the existing plastic pollutants, and also to inform future plastics design and processing strategies to minimize environmental accumulation. The PIs will engage a diverse student body at the institution through dedicated scholar and training programs and integrated lab and field learning experiences. The project will also lead to a community service project to increase public awareness of the local and regional sources of plastic pollutants in the Merrimack River watershed and the adjoining coastal environment. Existing studies on microplastics have revealed the importance of plastics fragmentation in the natural environment. However, the effects of the properties of different plastic materials and their processing history, including the presence of common additives such as antioxidants and UV stabilizers, on plastic degradation and fragmentation are largely unexplored. Plastic materials with well-controlled characteristics and additive formulations will be prepared in order to carry out systematic investigations to study the effects of polymer type, particle size and shape, and additive chemistry on plastic weathering and fragmentation. Characterizations of laboratory and field-collected samples to identify changes in polymer and surface chemistry, mechanical strength, and additive loss, in conjunction with quantitative analysis of fragmentation potential, are expected to generate new mechanistic insight into the formation of micro- and nano-plastics (MNPs) in the environment.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.