ABE Biocomplexity Engineering seminar

Details

Speaker:
Dr. Guilhem De Hoe

Title:
ABE Biocomplexity Engineering seminar:”Polymeric additives and biodegradable polymers”

Bio:
Guilhem was born in Paris, France and obtained a B.S. in Chemistry from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. He went on to get a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Minnesota, during which time he focused on dynamic polymer networks, polyesters, and biodegradation. After a brief post-doctoral appointment at Argonne National Laboratory working on anti-biofouling polymers, Guilhem transitioned to a research fellow position in the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub at the University of Manchester. While there, he split his time between translational research in plastics recycling and collaborative projects addressing systems-level material sustainability challenges with SMEs in Greater Manchester. In January of 2024, Guilhem started as an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Florida. His group now works on polymer processing in the context of mechanical recycling as well as the structure–property relationships that underpin the biodegradation of polymers and polymer blends.

Abstract:
Plastic pollution, low levels of recycling, and ecotoxicological concerns regarding additives and microplastics have driven increased awareness about the unsustainable use of plastics in our modern society as well as their negative impacts on the environment. In this talk, we will cover recent research on plastics additives and ongoing work on understanding structure–property–biodegradation relationships for water soluble polymers (WSPs). Many plastics additives (e.g. antioxidants) are small molecules that are critical to plastic processing and/or performance; however, they can migrate to interfaces and potentially leach into packaged products (during use) or the environment (when plastic waste is mismanaged). Our work addresses this challenge through two generations of innovative polymeric antioxidants that demonstrate comparable—or better—performance than conventional small-molecule counterparts while showing remarkably lowered leaching potential. We demonstrate this using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as the plastic matrix, incorporating the additives by twin screw extrusion and subjecting the extrudate to a variety of performance tests including oxidative induction time, solvent immersion trials, and colorimetry. Along the way, we show that a seemingly minor change in polymeric additive structure results in a significant benefit to antioxidant efficacy without enhancing leaching potential. In the second portion of the talk we will transition to polymer biodegradation, showing recent respirometric results for common WSPs that highlight just how important it is to contextualize biodegradability claims within a specific “receiving environment”.