30 Oct 2023 --- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia, and two Chinese companies operating in the plastics sector are developing “green plastics” of high molar mass called aliphatic polycarbonates (PCs). Shandong Lianxin Environmental Protection Technology and Hangzhou Hecai Technology are the two companies participating in the project. Professor of chemistry Yves Gnanou, Dr. Xiaoshuang Feng and their research team at KAUST have developed an innovative method to create PCs without using toxic metals, which are typically used in the production of similar plastics. The aliphatic PCs are unique because they are made using carbon dioxide and raw materials from sustainable sources. Dr. Feng explains that regular polycarbonates made with metal catalysts cannot be used in applications like food or medical products because of the metals they contain. However, their PC is free of metals and an “excellent” barrier to oxygen and moisture, making it suitable for plastic packaging, entailing items that need to be protected from oxidation. The solution includes up to 45% of CO2, meaning products help reduce carbon footprint when manufactured.
