Iterative Synthesis and Marine-Biodegradation Assessment of Discrete Oligomers Based on Poly(Butylene Succinate), Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate), Polyamide 6, and Polyisoprene
Understanding the degradation of polymeric materials is central to sustainable material design, yet the fate and properties of degraded products, i.e., oligomers, remain poorly understood. In this work, we report the synthesis and biodegradability assessment of discrete oligomers of poly-(butylene succinate), poly-(ethylene terephthalate), polyamide 6 (Nylon-6), and polyisoprene. Using iterative synthesis approaches, we obtained well-defined discrete oligomeric species with precise end-group structures for each polymer. Accelerated marine biodegradability analysis revealed distinct degradation behaviors depending on the polymer class and molecular weight. These findings underscore the importance of investigating oligomeric degradation products to better understand the fate of discarded polymers and to guide the rational design of environmentally benign materials.
Authors
- Masami Kamigaito (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7584-5524)
- Takumi Noda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0847-2171)
- Kotaro Satoh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3105-4592)
- Mineto Uchiyama (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3521-4784)
- Sono Sasaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7374-9854)
- Hironori Taguchi
- Atsushi Takahara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0584-1525)
- Chihiro Homma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7907-6080)
- Yasuhiro Kohsaka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9833-0929)
- Yingjun An (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1912-0808)
- Ryoya Kamiki
- Yoshifumi Amamoto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0987-2334)
- Tomohiro Kubo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3913-5845)
- Hiroyasu Masunaga
- Takako Kikuchi
- Ravi Teja Ananthu
Institutions
- Hitotsubashi University (JP)
- Tokyo Institute of Technology (JP)
- Kyushu University (JP)
- Shinshu University (JP)
- Kyoto Institute of Technology (JP)
- SPring-8 (JP)
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JP)
- Chemicals Evaluation and Research Institute (JP)
- Nagoya University (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Macromolecules
- Published
- 2025-08-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.5c01531
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.01
Funders
- New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization