Catalytic polymer processing
A method of upcycling polymers to useful hydrocarbon materials. A catalyst with nanoparticles on a substrate selectively docks and cleaves longer hydrocarbon chains over shorter hydrocarbon chains. The catalyst includes metal nanoparticles in an order array on a substrate.
1. A method of processing a polymer comprising:
exposing the polymer to a catalyst at a temperature of 100° C. to 500° C. at a pressure of 1 atms to 68 atms;
docking the polymer to the catalyst comprising an ordered array of nanoparticles on a crystalline substrate, with the polymer docked at a first nanoparticle within the ordered array of nanoparticles;
cleaving at least one carbon-carbon bond of the polymer at a second nanoparticle within the ordered array of nanoparticles; and
forming a plurality of hydrocarbon fragments from the cleaving, at least one of the hydrocarbon fragments having a carbon backbone less than an interparticle distance between the first nanoparticle and the second nanoparticle;
wherein the polymer has a carbon backbone length greater than the interparticle distance.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the temperature is 300° C. maintained for at least 24 hours.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the crystalline substrate is porous.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the crystalline substrate is a perovskite.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the docking of the polymer to the catalyst is by Van der Waals interactions between the polymer to the catalyst.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the polymer is polyethylene.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the hydrocarbon fragments have a distribution centered around C 100 .