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Hydrolyzable poly(ethylene terephthalate)

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Abstract

Due to the enormous annual increase in the volume of municipal solid waste, society's attention is focused on how to manage the solid waste problem. Plastic materials not only contribute a great deal to the litter problem but also create serious danger to the ecology. Every year, countless birds, sea turtles, and other marine mammals die from eating or getting entangled in plastic litter. Synthesizing degradable polymers can have a great impact on solving the problem of plastic litter. We have modified the structure of poly(ethylene terephthalate) to make it degradable in typical environmental conditions in presence of water. The change of physical properties of modified poly(ethylene terephthalate), resulting from hydrolysis, has been monitored and compared with those of pure poly(ethylene terephthalate).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Polymer Science Program, The Pennsylvania State University, 16802, University Park, Pennsylvania

    Sherry Heidary & Bernard Gordon III

Authors
  1. Sherry Heidary
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  2. Bernard Gordon III
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Heidary, S., Gordon, B. Hydrolyzable poly(ethylene terephthalate). J Environ Polym Degr 2, 19–26 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02073483

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02073483

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