Environmentally Friendly, Self-Templating Supramolecular Polymer SynthesisA green method for produci
Environmentally Friendly, Self-Templating Supramolecular Polymer SynthesisA green method for producing crystalline supramolecular fibers promises to make polymer production more sustainable.A polymer that catalyzes its own formation in an environmentally friendly solvent-free process has been developed by an all-RIKEN team of chemists. The discovery could lead to the development of inherently recyclable polymer materials that are made using a sustainable process.Polymers are ubiquitous today, but they are detrimental to the environment through the accumulation of plastic waste and the unsustainable nature of conventional polymer manufacture. Polymers are generally made by linking together strings of building blocks, known as monomers, using covalent bonds. But these strong bonds make it difficult to take used, end-of-life plastic items and de-polymerize them to recover the monomers for reuse.Read more. -- source link
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