Plasma Recycling of Polymers as Value Added Organics

This is a PhD research project in Chemistry. Chlorinated polymers are currently considered intractable in terms of recycling and consigned to landfill. We have been exploring the plasma-enhanced degradation of polymers and have observed that PVC is considerably more susceptible to plasma erosion than its non-halogenated counterparts. This project will focus on aspects of the surface science of this process by (i) investigating small molecule models of the degradation process using surface science techniques and (ii) looking to the nature of the organic products of the degradation with H2/CO2 plasma.