Self-Seeded Nucleation of PET in a Benign Solvent Yields a High Modulus Aerogel With Ultra-Low Thermal Conductivity.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 42272199.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1002/adma.73409.
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Abstract
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is the most recycled plastic; however, upcycling of this commodity polymer to value-added products has remained limited. Recent attempts to produce PET aerogels have relied on toxic solvents, chemical conversions and cross-linking, and reinforcement to achieve useful mechanical performance. Now, using a new benign solvent (1,3-diphenylacetone), we report a simple, safe, and sustainable dissolution and gelation procedure to convert waste PET into low density, monolithic aerogels with high mechanical strength (E = 20 ± 2 MPa) and remarkably low thermal conductivity (k = 21.9 to 28.9 mW m<sup>-1</sup> K<sup>-1</sup>). The key to this process is controlled crystal nucleation by a self-seeding phenomenon during gelation that establishes a mesoscale fibrillar framework. Our strategy offers a benign sol-gel process to upcycle plastic waste into a new form of pure PET for advanced thermal insulation.