Research Areas Sustainable Plastics

Research Interests It has been 100 years in macromolecular chemistry since the first concept of macromolecules consisting of a large number of repeating units in 1920. Polymer science and plastic industry have been developed rapidly, producing 400 million tons per year, yet current recycling rate is only 9%. In 2050, the proportion of plastics in total carbon emission is expected to reach 15%, so research attentions to sustainable polymers are urgent.

For the next 100 years of polymers and plastics, our research group focuses on the sustainability from the design of novel chemical structure, polymerization, biodegradation, and to the applications related to carbon neutrality considering end-of-life.

Sustainable ideas to realization: for examples, tough-yet-biodegradable disposable bags; marine-degradable microplastics; high-performance nanocellulose-composites; recyclable thermosets; up-cycling of current plastics; zero-burden new polymer structures.

Selected Publications Sungbin Ju, Giyoung Shin, Minkyung Lee, Jun Mo Koo, Hyeonyeol Jeon, Yong Sik Ok, Dong Soo Hwang, Sung Yeon Hwang, Dongyeop X Oh, Jeyoung Park, “Biodegradable chito-beads replacing non-biodegradable microplastics for cosmetics”, Green Chemistry 23 (2021) 6953-6965.

Hyeri Kim, Hyeonyeol Jeon, Giyoung Shin, Minkyung Lee, Jonggeon Jegal, Sung Yeon Hwang, Dongyeop X Oh, Jun Mo Koo, Youngho Eom, Jeyoung Park, “Biodegradable nanocomposite of poly (ester-co-carbonate) and cellulose nanocrystals for tough tear-resistant disposable bags”, Green Chemistry 23 (2021) 2293-2299.

Seul-A Park, Youngho Eom, Hyeonyeol Jeon, Jun Mo Koo, Eun Seong Lee, Jonggeon Jegal, Sung Yeon Hwang, Dongyeop X Oh, Jeyoung Park, “Preparation of synergistically reinforced transparent bio-polycarbonate nanocomposites with highly dispersed cellulose nanocrystals”, Green Chemistry 21 (2019) 5212-5221.

Seul-A Park, Hyeonyeol Jeon, Hyungjun Kim, Sung-Ho Shin, Seunghwan Choy, Dong Soo Hwang, Jun Mo Koo, Jonggeon Jegal, Sung Yeon Hwang, Jeyoung Park, Dongyeop X Oh, “Sustainable and recyclable super engineering thermoplastic from biorenewable monomer”, Nature Communications 10 (2019) 2601.

Seon‐Mi Kim, Hyeonyeol Jeon, Sung‐Ho Shin, Seul‐A Park, Jonggeon Jegal, Sung Yeon Hwang, Dongyeop X Oh, Jeyoung Park, “Superior toughness and fast self‐healing at room temperature engineered by transparent elastomers”, Advanced Materials 30 (2018) 1705145.

Professional Experience 책임연구원 (한국화학연구원, 2014-2022)
겸직교수 (포항공대, 2020-2022)
부교수 (과학기술연합대학원대학교, 2016-2022)
연구원 (SK이노베이션, 2012-2014)