Background

Polyesters comprise a significant portion of plastics entering landfills. One issue that limits their recycling is natural degradation during melt processing which lowers their molecular weight and melt viscosity. Reactive chain extenders are often used to build back the molecular weight of the polyester, however, their use can lead to excessive crosslinking and gel formation. MSU researchers have developed novel chain extenders that prevent crosslinking reactions, but build melt strength back to their original levels. This allows efficient recycling of the materials and a more closed loop material system.