Plastics

Plastics, more specifically polymers are of two types, thermoplastics, and thermosets. These two types of polymers have a global market share of about 70% and 30% respectively. Thermoplastics (PE, PP, PET, etc.) are typically cost-effective and find applications in several daily uses such as in food packaging, stationery items, automobile industries, etc. Thermosets, on the other hand, are high-value plastic (e.g., tires, epoxy resins in composites and adhesives) and are used in several high-value applications like airplane bodies, wind turbine blades, maritime industries, sports equipment, etc.

These two types of polymers, having different applications and values, need to be tackled in different ways to achieve sustainability. These two topics of research are mentioned below.

Synthetic polymer chemistry: thermoplastics toward a sustainable future

We focus on the synthesis of non-cross-linked polymers (soluble), commonly known as thermoplastics. The polymers are to be synthesized from monomers derived from biomass resources (typically), using various polymerization techniques, such as ring-opening polymerizations.

This topic will rely on significant organic synthetic skills and soluble (linear or branched) polymer characterization.

Recyclable Thermosets

Thermosets are cross-linked polymers. These are typically high-value polymers used in tires, composites (employed in airplanes, sports cars, wind turbine blades, etc.), adhesives, flooring, etc. These polymers are non-recyclable due to their permanent cross-links. The use of reversible chemical cross-links makes these types of polymer recyclable by means of reshaping or reprocessing.

This topic will cultivate organic synthetic skills in addition to polymer material characterization.

Research Experiences

(Prior to Joining IIT Kgp)

From PhD

The research focus was on biomass (cellulose) derived monomers for degradable polymer synthesis during my Ph.D. The primary contribution of my Ph.D. research was the discovery of ‘levoglucosenol as a biomass-derived carbohydrate monomer platform’ for various thermoplastic polymer syntheses. Several polymerization methods, such as Ring-opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP), Cationic Ring-opening Polymerization (CROP), and photo-triggered CROP, were used to polymerize levoglucosenol derivatives.

From Postdocs

From Ghent University

The research focus was on vinylogous urethane and siloxane-containing vitrimers, based on epoxy resins. These polymer resins were prepared to target the production of reshapeable fiber-reinforced composites. The primary advantage of this type of polymer network over traditional resins is that they are reshapable, repairable, and weldable. Such reshapeability and repairibility enables the corresponding composites reshapeable.

From Northwestern University

The research focus was on disulfide-based cross-linkers for the preparation of Covalent adaptable networks (CANs) in order to develop reprocessable cross-linked polyethylene at a high-pressure reactor in association with a company named Braskem USA. The primary advantage of this type of polymer network over traditional thermosets is that they are reshapeable, repairable, and weldable.

From University of Potsdam

The research focus was on synthesis of monomers derived from bio-mass (cellulose) and their polymerization, mainly via ring-opening metathesis polymerization.