Tech Briefs Magazine - March 2021 - 47

recycling more attractive, researchers
and the plastics industry have been looking for ways to " upcycle " - convert recycled plastic into something more valuable
and longer-lived.
The chemical process keeps many of
the original properties of polyethylene
but adds a chemical group to the polymer
that makes it stick to metal - something

polyethylene normally does poorly. The
modified polyethylene can even be painted with water-based latex, which easily
peels off standard low-density polyethylene (LDPE).
While the process is not yet economical
for industrial use, it could be the starting
point for adding other properties besides
stickiness. The success also hints thatother

Water-based latex paint sticks so tightly to the oxidized polyethylene (Ox-LDPE) that it cannot be
removed with tape, even after 11 attempts. Latex does not adhere to normal plastics. (UC Berkeley
photo by Katerina Malollari)

catalysts could work with other types of
plastics, such as the polypropylene found
in recycled plastic bottles, to produce
higher-value products that are economically attractive.
The catalyst would have to work at high
temperatures, since the solid recycled
plastic has to be melted. Also, it would
have to work in a solvent that is nonpolar
and thus able to mix with polyethylene,
which is nonpolar. This is one reason it
does not stick to metals, which are polar,
or charged.
Getting polyethylene to adhere to
things - including latex paint - opens
up many opportunities; for example, artificial hip sockets and knee implants often
integrate polyethylene with metal components and could be made to adhere better
to metal. Functionalized polyethylene
could be used to coat electrical wire, provide the glue that sticks other polymers
together - such as in milk cartons - or
make more durable composites of plastic
and metal such as in toys.
For more information, contact Robert
Sanders at rlsanders@berkeley.edu; 510-6436998.

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Tech Briefs, March 2021

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Tech Briefs Magazine - March 2021

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