Optimizing Electron-Beam Photothermal Pyrolysis Parameters for Enhanced Molecular Biodegradability of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Plastics

Optimizing Electron-Beam Photothermal Pyrolysis Parameters for Enhanced Molecular Biodegradability of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Plastics | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Optimizing Electron-Beam Photothermal Pyrolysis Parameters for Enhanced Molecular Biodegradability of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Plastics Rishika Porandla This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4643439/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), a synthetic plastic notable for its lack of biodegradability and harmful emissions during deterioration, has potential to be molecularly adjusted by Photo-Oxidative Ultraviolet (UV) Degradation. This research investigates the influence of electron beam irradiation and near-infrared (NIR) laser-induced photothermal treatment utilizing gold nanoparticles on PVC plastic in order to establish the optimized molecular weight and beam time exposure for biodegradable PVC properties. PVC powder samples with varying number-average molecular weights ranging from 20 kDa to 90 kDa, unplasticized PVC film, gold nanoparticles, and varying exposure time of a 100 kGy electron beam from 80 to 115 milliseconds were employed for the study. Outcomes from PVC irradiation reveal the optimal parameters for inducing biodegradability in samples while preserving structural integrity: an e-beam exposure duration of 95 milliseconds applied to PVC powder with a sample molecular weight of 20 kDa, though also causing discoloration due to polymer chain breakage and hydrogen embrittlement. Analysis of the ratio of number average molecular weight Mn and weight average molecular weight Mw demonstrated that shorter irradiation durations result in lower molecular weights. Later comparison of glass transition temperature Tg vs. molecular weight indicated how molecular weight is a factor of influence on Tg and crystallinity, which is low in biodegradable polymers. Future work will aim to scale up the procedure for industrial applications and investigate the treatment’s applicability to a variety of thermoplastics, including fluoropolymers, polyacrylates, and ethylene copolymers. Physical sciences/Materials science/Soft materials/Polymers Physical sciences/Chemistry/Chemical synthesis/Polymer synthesis Fixed Target Experiments Phase Transitions Differential and Algebraic Geometry Finite Temperature or Finite Density Gamma and Cosmic Rays (experiments) Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4643439","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":321915745,"identity":"c6fe88bb-5075-47a4-bc24-dd872ed16676","order_by":0,"name":"Rishika Porandla","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA30lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHCCxAcJBjYMDMwIEQNCWh4bPChIg2pJIEoL4zPBBx8OQznEaDGf3ZzGkGBwPs+8nffgh48/bPIY2Ju3SeDTInPnWBrQL7eLZQ7zJUvOSEgrZuA5VoZXi4RETroBUEviDGYeM2aehMOJDRI5ZgS05H+TSDA4B9HyB6RF/g0hLQlpQC0HIFoYwLbwENAicyAZ6LDkYglmHmPJnrS0xDaetGILvFqkGxIf/vhjlyfBf8bwww8bm8R+9sMbb+DTwgB1QwJcgA2vcqxaRsEoGAWjYBSgAwDdT0WsNQSnVQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0000-7362-1893","institution":"Princeton University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rishika","middleName":"","lastName":"Porandla","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-06-26 14:35:26","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4643439/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4643439/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":60640405,"identity":"b5f4e723-1c04-4c66-9a40-8c3cdcea48bc","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-19 03:29:10","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":944824,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"OptimizingElectronBeamPhotothermalPyrolysisParametersforEnhancedMolecularBiodegradabilityofPolyvinylChloridePVCPlastics.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4643439/v1_covered_460b8b17-e430-4a3b-b6d6-f63c320ce7a7.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Optimizing Electron-Beam Photothermal Pyrolysis Parameters for Enhanced Molecular Biodegradability of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Plastics","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Fixed Target Experiments, Phase Transitions, Differential and Algebraic Geometry, Finite Temperature or Finite Density, Gamma and Cosmic Rays (experiments)","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4643439/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4643439/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), a synthetic plastic notable for its lack of biodegradability and harmful emissions during deterioration, has potential to be molecularly adjusted by Photo-Oxidative Ultraviolet (UV) Degradation. This research investigates the influence of electron beam irradiation and near-infrared (NIR) laser-induced photothermal treatment utilizing gold nanoparticles on PVC plastic in order to establish the optimized molecular weight and beam time exposure for biodegradable PVC properties. PVC powder samples with varying number-average molecular weights ranging from 20 kDa to 90 kDa, unplasticized PVC film, gold nanoparticles, and varying exposure time of a 100 kGy electron beam from 80 to 115 milliseconds were employed for the study. Outcomes from PVC irradiation reveal the optimal parameters for inducing biodegradability in samples while preserving structural integrity: an e-beam exposure duration of 95 milliseconds applied to PVC powder with a sample molecular weight of 20 kDa, though also causing discoloration due to polymer chain breakage and hydrogen embrittlement. Analysis of the ratio of number average molecular weight Mn and weight average molecular weight Mw demonstrated that shorter irradiation durations result in lower molecular weights. Later comparison of glass transition temperature Tg vs. molecular weight indicated how molecular weight is a factor of influence on Tg and crystallinity, which is low in biodegradable polymers. 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