Tobin J. Marks Lecture: "The Organometallic Chemistry of Chemically Recyclable Plastics"

Speaker: Dr. Paul Chirik, Princeton University

Abstract: Plastics enable our quality of life in everything from food preservation to disposable facemasks. Since 1950, over 9 billion tons of plastics have been synthesized. Where have they gone? Sadly, almost all of this plastic is still with us today and is now found just about everywhere on Earth—from the deepest oceans to mountaintops. While a kneejerk reaction may be to ban plastic, a more thoughtful analysis reveals a more nuanced strategy is needed. My lecture will focus on the fundamental chemistry and catalysis required to enable a sustainable plastics age. One area of emphasis will be on the preparation of new polymer microstructures prepared from abundant hydrocarbon building blocks such as butadiene are chemically recyclable—re-exposure to the iron catalyst reverts the plastic to pristine monomer. The synthesis and properties of this new cycloaddition polymer and materials derived from it will be presented. A second area of emphasis is the integration of polymerization methods to prepare polyolefins from monomers derived from CO₂. The implications of these catalytic reactions on a new, responsible hydrocarbon future as well as the fundamental organometallic chemistry will be presented.

Pre-seminar reception held at 3:30 pm in the Atrium. 

Tobin J. Marks Lecture