Collaborative Research: CAS: Understanding Polymer Additive Release and Transformations in Aquatic Environments

化学部环境化学科学计划的这一奖项资助了科罗拉多矿业学院的James Ranville教授和马里兰州大学的霍华德费尔布雷泽教授的一个合作项目。 该团队研究了塑料在环境中慢慢腐烂时塑料中的添加剂会发生什么。 在塑料制造过程中添加复杂的化合物，以改善其性能，如耐用性，颜色和质地。这些添加剂的化学组成非常不同，可以包括小的有机分子以及含金属的有机化合物。塑料废物在水生环境中的积累是一个日益受到全球关注的高度可见的问题。 当塑料与水接触或暴露在阳光下时，化学添加剂会缓慢释放到水中。在那里，它们可以进行化学转化，形成新的化合物。不幸的是，许多添加剂及其转化产物已被发现对环境和人类健康构成风险。这项研究的信息可以帮助我们提高对科学的理解，以指导新添加剂的设计，减少对环境的影响。参与这项研究的学生获得材料化学和环境科学方面的技能。在K-12和大学水平的学生参加教育活动，如与塑料的寿命结束问题的实践经验。该项目旨在从分子水平了解聚合物中添加剂的化学组成和物理特性如何影响添加剂在水环境中的释放和随后的光化学转化。这些目标是通过测量添加剂的释放动力学和吸附性能从一组选定的良好表征的添加剂/聚合物复合材料。这是补充的光转化动力学和转化产品的测量，使用一套高灵敏度的质谱技术。 模型有机和有机金属化合物被用来测试假设和开发添加剂释放和光化学转化相关的结构活性关系。这些模型解决了添加剂的分子水平性质，聚合物-添加剂相互作用，以及聚合物表面性质的变化在确定添加剂在水性环境中的行为中的作用。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award from the Environmental Chemical Sciences Program of the Division of Chemistry funds a collaborative project by Professor James Ranville at the Colorado School of Mines and Professor Howard Fairbrother at the University of Maryland. The team studies what happens to additives in plastics as the plastics slowly decay in the environment. Complex chemical compounds are added the during manufacturing of plastics to improve their properties, such as durability, color and texture. The chemical composition of these additives is very varied and can include small organic molecules as well as metal-containing organic compounds. The accumulation of plastic waste in aquatic environments is a highly visible problem of increasing global concern. When plastics are in contact with water or exposed to sunlight, the chemical additives are slowly released into the water. There they can undergo chemical transformation to form new compounds. Unfortunately, a number of additives and their transformation products have been found to pose a risk to the environment and to human health. Information from this study can help improve our understanding of the science to guide the design of new additives with reduced environmental impacts. The students involved in this research acquire skills in materials chemistry and environmental science. Students at the K-12 and university level participate in educational activities, such as hands-on experiences with end-of-life issues with plastics. The project aims to develop a molecular level understanding of how the chemical composition and physical characteristics of additives in polymers influence the release and subsequent photochemical transformations of additives in aqueous environments. These goals are accomplished by measuring additive release kinetics and sorption properties from a selected set of well characterized additive/polymer composites. This is complemented by measurements of phototransformation kinetics and transformation products using a suite of highly sensitive mass spectrometry techniques. Model organic and organometallic compounds are used to test hypotheses and develop structure activity relationships related to additive release and photochemical transformations. These models address the role of molecular level properties of additives, polymer-additive interactions, and changes in polymer surface properties in determining the behavior of additives in aqueous environments. The results can be extrapolated to a wide range of additive/polymer combinations relevant to plastic pollution in the aquatic 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.