Recyclable plastics made from sugar are available

According to the Physicists Organization Network reported on the 17th, researchers from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom and Duke University in the United States used sugar-based raw materials instead of petrochemical derivatives to develop two new polymers, which have all the characteristics of ordinary plastics, but are degradable and physically recyclable. One of the polymers is stretchable like rubber; the other is as strong and tough as most plastics.

In the latest study, scientists used isoiode and isomannitol as the base material to create these new polymers. Both compounds, isoiode and isomannitol, are made from sugar alcohols with a hard ring of atoms. The researchers found that the hardness and ductility of the newly developed isoiode-based polymers are similar to those of ordinary plastics, and the strength is similar to that of high-performance engineering plastics such as nylon-6. It is worth noting that these new polymer materials still have excellent mechanical properties after crushing and heat treatment, and crushing and heat treatment are common methods for physically recovering plastics.

Although the three-dimensional spatial orientation (stereochemistry) of isoiode and isomannitol with only two bonds is different, compared with isoiode-based polymers, isomannitol-based polymers, in addition to having similar strength and toughness, also exhibit high elasticity, and can recover their shape after deformation. Using computer simulations, the researchers found that the unique 3D shape of the sugar derivatives facilitated different movements and interactions of the polymer's long chains, leading them to observe different object properties in the two polymers.

In addition, the researchers also found that by manufacturing copolymers containing both isoiode and isomannitol units, the mechanical properties and degradation rates of both units can be controlled separately, opening the door to the use of sugar's unique shape to independently regulate the degradability of specific-purpose plastics (without significantly altering other properties of the material).

Dr Connor Stubbs, University of Birmingham, said: "Petrochemical-based plastics currently face significant environmental challenges. As a result, we can look at other unique structures and shapes to create better plastics that perform the same as current commercial plastics. (Reporter Liu Xia)

Source: Science and Technology Daily