Latent Antioxidants for Environmentally Responsible Polymer Formulations

由塑料或橡胶制成的消费品必须稳定，防止因暴露在热、光和氧下而引起的降解。我的NSERC发现基金的续期是为了帮助我们的团队创造技术，提高这些产品的使用寿命，同时减少它们对人类健康和环境的影响。研究项目的中心主题是潜伏期，即存在但尚未活跃的状态。我们的目标是开发潜在的抗氧化剂，可以用简单的，具有成本效益的化学方法与商品聚合物化学结合。一旦这些聚合物投入使用，这种聚合物结合的功能将被环境紫外线、氧气和/或水分激活。这种抗氧化技术的新方法将保护物品免受降解，而不会因浸出，提取或释放挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）而对环境造成损失。

Consumer goods made from plastic or rubber must be stabilized against degradation caused by exposure to heat, light and oxygen. Renewal of my NSERC Discovery Grant is sought to help our group create technology that improves the lifespan of these products, while reducing their impact on human health and the environment. The central theme of the research program is latency, the state of existing but not yet being active. Our goal is to develop latent antioxidants that can be chemically-bonded to commodity polymers using simple, cost-effective chemistry. Once these polymers are put in service, this polymer-bound functionality will be activated by environmental UV light, oxygen and/or moisture. This new approach to antioxidant technology will protect the article from degradation without risking losses to the environment by leaching, extraction, or release as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Canadian manufacturers and consumers alike will benefit from an improved lifespan of polymer products and reduced environmental impact. Furthermore, my five-year research program will support the training of 1 PhD, 3 MSc, and 10 BSc thesis students, providing the Canadian marketplace with HQP that understand the fundamentals of polymer stabilization, and possess the hands-on skills that are needed to change industrial practice.