(385ai) Surface Modification of Polypropylene Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) Plasma for Polymer Upcycling

Plastic waste has become a major threat to environment due to contamination of soil, air, and oceans. We are interested in plastics upcycling of polyolefins via surface functionalization, followed by catalytic deconstruction to olefins. The current study addresses the effect of surface functionalization of polypropylene (PP) using non-thermal plasma (NTP) at atmospheric pressure. This approach to tailor the surface properties of PP is promising as it can influence the kinetics of chemical conversion reactions. The PP beads were treated with DBD air plasma at varying frequencies- 330, 565 and 800 Hz for 30 mins. The surface of NTP treated PP was investigated with respect to time for 40 days using different characterization techniques at different time intervals. The FTIR studies confirmed the presence of different functional groups such as C=O, C=C and N-O on the surface and they are consistent with the XPS analysis. In addition, distinct peaks of C-C/C-H and O-C=O are observed in the XPS spectra. However, the intensity of the peaks decreased with time. The FESEM study shows that the polymer beads disintegrated to form small particles with time. The details of these studies will be presented.