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UNIVERSITY OF BUCHAREST
FACULTY OF PHYSICS Guest
2024-11-23 17:38 |
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Conference: Bucharest University Faculty of Physics 2023 Meeting
Section: Solid State Physics and Materials Science, Optics, Spectroscopy, Plasma and Lasers
Title:
Titanium Carbide MXenes functionalization for Heterogeneous catalysis in PET hydrolysis
Authors:
Tudor ȘUTEU(1), Iuliana M. CHIRICA(1,2), Anca G. MIREA(2), Ștefan NEAȚU(2), Michel W. BARSOUM(3), Mihaela FLOREA(2), Florentina NEAȚU(2)
*
Affiliation:
1) University of Bucharest, Faculty of Physics, Măgurele, Romania
2) National Institute of Materials Physics, Măgurele, Romania
3) Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104
E-mail
tudor.suteu2001@gmail.com
Keywords:
heterogeneous catalysis, 2D nanomaterials, PET recycling, depolymerization, terephthalic acid
Abstract:
Heterogeneous catalysis has been a cornerstone of our industrial society for hundreds of years, taking part in reactions such as the Ostwald process for nitric acid production or pollutant decomposition inside automobile catalytic reactors. Traditionally, metals and metal oxides have been primarily used as catalysts, but new economic and environmental challenges demand a shift towards novel materials which can be cheaper and have specialized properties. One such example are MXenes, a relatively new class of 2D materials that are recommended by their thermal stability and resistance to oxidation to fill the role of catalysts in all sorts of reactions. In order to obtain the material, we started from the Ti3AlC2 MAX phase and etched it with LiF and HCl to form in situ HF. The resulting Titanium Carbide MXene (Ti3C2) was activated with acidic groups by reaction with the diazonium salt of sulfanilic acid. Surface morphology and successful functionalization was verified by SEM, XRD and IR spectroscopy methods.
The reaction of interest was the neutral hydrolytic depolymerization of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), one of the most produced plastics in history and one of the biggest pollutants of our environment. The products of this catalytic reaction are the constituent monomers, terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol. During the experiments, three types of functionalized MXenes (different concentrations of sulfonic acid groups) were tested at temperatures varying from 160 to 180 °C with three commercially available sources of PET: transparent flask, green flask and synthetic T-shirt (polyester). The reactions resulted in outstanding yields (70% TPA) at temperature below 180°C.
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