Journal article
Acid-Modified, Ti3C2-Based MXene as Catalysts for Upcycling Polyethylene Terephthalate
ACS sustainable chemistry & engineering, v 12(26), pp 9766-9776
14 Jun 2024
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Plastics are indispensable materials for packaging and many products from our daily life, and their recycling is essential to ensure a circular economy. In this study, -SO3H-modified, Ti3C2-MXene was used as a recoverable solid acid catalyst for upcycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol by hydrolysis. For the grafting of -SO3H groups to the Ti3C2Tx surface (where T-x represents the surface moieties, such as -OH or -O), sulfonation with an aryl diazonium salt obtained from sulfanilic acid was employed. X-ray photoelectron and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses provided a direct indication that sulfonation of the Ti3C2Tx was successfully performed, while X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analyses evidence the presence of -SO3H groups between the Ti3C2Tx layers due to the increases of the interlayer spacing through the intercalation of functional groups. The higher the concentration of acid groups, the higher the interlayer spacing. The depolymerization of PET in water occurred with a very good isolated yield in TPA (99%) for the MXene with the highest amount of sulfonic acid groups. We conclude that the acidity is mandatory to perform the hydrolysis reaction, in agreement with the acidity measurements, which show that the MXenes modified with the highest amount of derived sulfonic acids are the most active. Nevertheless, the accessibility to the acidic sites is a key factor that promotes the 2D acid-modified MXene materials as important catalysts for PET upcycling to TPA.
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Details
- Title
- Acid-Modified, Ti3C2-Based MXene as Catalysts for Upcycling Polyethylene Terephthalate
- Creators
- Iuliana M. Chirica - National Institute of Materials PhysicsAnca G. Mirea - National Institute of Materials PhysicsTudor Şuteu - University of BucharestAndrei Kuncser - National Institute of Materials PhysicsŞtefan Neaţu - National Institute of Materials PhysicsMihaela Florea - National Institute of Materials PhysicsMichel W. Barsoum - Drexel UniversityFlorentina Neaţu (Corresponding Author) - National Institute of Materials Physics
- Publication Details
- ACS sustainable chemistry & engineering, v 12(26), pp 9766-9776
- Publisher
- Amer Chemical Soc
- Number of pages
- 11
- Grant note
- 2023-2026; PC3-PN23080303 / Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digitization, CNCSyUEFISCDI NSF; National Science Foundation (NSF) PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2019-1969 / Division of Materials Research; National Science Foundation (NSF); NSF - Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences (MPS) DMR-2211319 / Romanian Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digitization through the Core Program
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001248680300001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85196552160
- Other Identifier
- 991021889614604721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
- Engineering, Chemical
- Green & Sustainable Science & Technology