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Structural changes of polystyrene particles in subcritical and supercritical water revealed by in situ small-angle neutron scattering

Polymer Journal volume 55, pages 1165–1170 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Marine ecosystem degradation due to microplastic pollution is a significant environmental problem, as acknowledged by Sustainable Development Goal 14. Decomposition of plastics using near critical or supercritical water is a promising method to remove microplastics. To optimize this method for realizing environmental benefits, it is necessary to clarify the structural change of materials during the process. Thus, we investigated the decomposition processes of polystyrene particles dispersed in deuterated water (D2O) during heating under near critical or supercritical conditions by using in situ small-angle neutron scattering. Under subcritical conditions, the PS particles were swollen by D2O due to increased compatibility with temperature. In subcritical conditions near the critical point, cleavage of PS chains in the particles occurred, so that the swollen ratio was enhanced despite the PS particles keeping their shapes. Under supercritical conditions, the PS particles were degraded into oil, including oligomers or monomers and phase-separated structures with styrene-rich and D2O-rich regions.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partly supported by the JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Science Research (B) (grant No. JP23H01698) and Grant-in-Aid for Science Research (S) (grant No. JP 21H05027). The SANS experiments were performed using SANS-J at JRR-3 under the user program (proposal No. 2022A-A23). We thank Prof. Yoshinobu Tsujii and Prof. Yuji Kinose for the SEC measurement (Kyoto University). The authors acknowledge the support of the Quantum Beam Analyses Alliance (QBAA).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Society-Academia Collaboration for Innovation, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan

    Motoki Shibata & Tsukasa Miyazaki

  2. Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto, 611-0011, Japan

    Yohei Nakanishi & Mikihito Takenaka

  3. Neutron Science and Technology Center, Comprehensive Research Organization for Science and Society, Tokai, Ibaraki, 319-1106, Japan

    Jun Abe, Hiroshi Arima-Osonoi, Hiroki Iwase & Mitsuhiro Shibayama

  4. Materials Sciences Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokai, Ibaraki, 319-1195, Japan

    Ryuhei Motokawa & Takayuki Kumada

  5. J-PARC Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokai, Ibaraki, 319–1195, Japan

    Shin-ichi Takata

  6. Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Nagoya, 466-8555, Japan

    Katsuhiro Yamamoto

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  1. Motoki Shibata
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Correspondence to Motoki Shibata, Mikihito Takenaka or Tsukasa Miyazaki.

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Shibata, M., Nakanishi, Y., Abe, J. et al. Structural changes of polystyrene particles in subcritical and supercritical water revealed by in situ small-angle neutron scattering. Polym J 55, 1165–1170 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-023-00817-1

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