College
Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences
Date of Last Revision
2026-04-28 12:33:34
Major
Chemistry
Honors Course
CHEM 497
Number of Credits
2
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Date of Expected Graduation
Spring 2026
Abstract
Plastic has become the primary material for containers in both industrial and commercial fields. Plastics are the optimal choice since they have many physical properties that make them ideal candidates: durability, heat resistance, chemical stability, as well as their inexpensive production cost. Nowadays, the desire for more versatile plastics with strength, flexibility, hydrophobicity, and biodegradability has grown; however, concerns for plastic use have started to rise as well. The overuse of plastics poses a threat to the environment and people’s health: plastics are hard to break down completely which results in the formation of micro(nano)plastics (MNPs). In attempts to circumvent environmental damage, environmentally friendly plastics are being researched. One strategy that is being investigated is the use of block copolymers. These environmentally friendly plastics are expected to not degrade into micro(nano)plastics. The ideal block copolymer tries to maintain strength and flexibility while being more biodegradable. Poly(ethylene furanoate)(PEF) is a sustainable plastic with these characteristics. Through multi-dimensional mass spectrometry analysis, four PEF samples of varying viscosities were analyzed, with the principal objective of correlating structural components to their physical properties.
Research Sponsor
Dr. Chrys Wesdemiotis
First Reader
Dr. David Modarelli
Second Reader
Dr. Yi Pang
Honors Faculty Advisor
Dr. William Donovan
Proprietary and/or Confidential Information
No
Community Engaged Scholarship
Yes
Recommended Citation
Sacco, TJ, "Identification of Modified Polymer End Groups for Correlations to Physical Properties" (2026). Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects. 2129.
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/2129