Publications
Polymer-catalyst interactions at the interphase
-
Beyond heat and mass transfer, the polymer-catalyst interphase plays a crucial role in polymer conversion. The concentration and spatial arrangement of reactive species at this interface directly influence catalyst activity and selectivity—a relationship demonstrated in several papers led by Mehdi Zare, with Pavel contributing as an experimentalist.
Integrating theory and experiment is essential for scientific progress, especially as the field moves beyond the traditional “cooking-and-looking” approach.
-
P.A. Kots, Z.H. Hinton, M. Zare, B.C. Vance, M. Ley-Flores, J.J. de Pablo, T.H. Epps, L.T.J. Korley, D.G. Vlachos. Probing melt-metal interfaces during polyolefin hydrogenolysis on Ru catalysts. In preparation, 2024.
Role of additives in plastic upcycling
-
Processing real-world feedstocks with catalysis-based technologies presents significant challenges due to severe catalyst poisoning and the high variability of feed composition. Our work moves beyond model "clean" substrates, addressing the complexities of polymer blends that contain additives such as fire retardants, antioxidants, and slip agents.
A systematic understanding of additive impacts on plastic upcycling will enable catalysis-based approaches to effectively handle real-world waste streams.
-
E. Selvam, J.A. Sun, P.A. Kots, Z.O.G. Schyns, Y. Kwak, L.T.J. Korley, R.F. Lobo, D.G. Vlachos. Conversion of compositionally diverse plastic waste over earth-abundant sulfides. J.Am.Chem.Soc., 2024, under review.
Plastic-to-lubricant hydroconversion
-
Plastic waste upcycling transforms waste into valuable product streams, creating economic incentives for the process.
A key example is the conversion of polyolefin plastics into lubricants. We have developed a catalyst that efficiently converts polypropylene and polyethylene waste into liquid products with properties comparable to—if not exceeding—those of Group I base oils.
-