NSF Young Investigator

这是美国国家科学基金会青年研究者奖埃里克贝克曼， 使他能够探索聚合物工艺的改进 和/或产品，以减少其对 环境 例如，他将着眼于双酚A的生产 聚碳酸酯。 目前光气和双酚A二钠 盐在界面过程中反应，然后是高的 氯化钠是一种高分子化合物， 副产品 必须将大量的残留溶剂 在进一步加工之前从产品中消除， 产生的盐必须作为危险废物填埋。 贝克曼博士计划探索一条聚碳酸酯 生产，允许使用温和的环境影响 作为单体和方法的超临界二氧化碳 溶剂后 二氧化碳硝基苯酚和一种硝基苯氧基锡 将催化剂组合以产生碳酸硝基苯酯， 然后在温和的温度下发生反式反应， 高分子量聚碳酸酯。 硝基苯酚产生的 然后从聚合物熔体中汽提 并循环到单体生产中 过程 这条路线将减少环境影响， 聚碳酸酯的合成通过（1）除去盐， 副产物和氯化溶剂，（2）降低能源消耗 聚碳酸酯生产的要求和（3）消除 光气从聚合序列。 将研究的另一个过程将涉及 其中改进的可再循环性 在分子水平上融入到材料中。 的 许多短寿命包装对环境的影响 材料来源于它们对整体固体废物的影响 问题. 目前的回收技术允许少量的 回收的塑料废物占整个塑料废物流的比例 并重新加工。 任何热塑性材料，如果保留在 使用后的相对纯的形式，可以再加工， 因此，回收问题实际上是 分离问题。 PI计划生产聚合物 含有官能团，虽然疏水， 容易可逆地转化为亲水基团， 合成步骤。 因此，这些材料可以 经过化学处理后溶解在水中， 从双层或复合产品中提取，以及 随后的恢复后， 功能化反应

This is an NSF Young Investigator Award to Eric Beckman to enable him to explore modifications of polymer processes and/or products to reduce their adverse effects on the environment. For example, he will look at the production of bisphenol A polycarbonate. Presently phosgene and bisphenol A disodium salt are reacted in an interfacial process, followed by a high temperature process that yields sodium chloride as a byproduct. Large quantities of residual solvent must be eliminated from the product prior to further processing and the salt produced has to be landfilled as a hazardous waste. Dr. Beckman plans to explore a route to polycarbonate production which allows a milder environmental impact using supercritical carbon dioxide as both monomer and process solvent. Carbon dioxide, nitrophenol, and a nitrophenoxy tin catalyst will be combined to produce nitrophenyl carbonate, which is then transreacted at mild temperatures to generate high molecular weight polycarbonate. The nitrophenol produced during polymerization is then stripped from the polymer melt with carbon dioxide and recycled to the monomer production process. This route would lessen the environmental impact of the polycarbonate synthesis by (1) eliminating the salt byproduct and chlorinated solvents, (2) reducing the energy requirement for polycarbonate production and (3) eliminating phosgene from the polymerization sequence. Another process that will be studied will involve the synthesis of polymers where improved recyclability is incorporated into the material at the molecular level. The environmental impact of many short life-time packaging materials derives from their impact on the overall solid waste problem. Current recycling technology permits a small fraction of the overall plastic waste stream to be recovered and re-processed. Any thermoplastic material, if retained in a relatively pure form following use, can be reprocessed and thus recycled, therefore the recycling problem is in fact a separations problem. The PI plans to generate polymers containing functional groups, which although hydrophobic, are readily reversibly transformed to hydrophilic groups in one synthetic step. These materials could consequently be dissolved in water following chemical treatment, allowing both their extraction from bilayer or composite products, and subsequent recovery following reversal of the functionalization reaction.