Plastics Publications

Balzer, A. H.; Mann, L. E.; Hughes, R. W.; Sumerlin, B. S.; Korley, L. T. J.; Epps, T. H., III. Extracting Depolymerization Rates of Vinyl Polymers with Thermal Triggers via Analytical Models. ACS Mater. Lett. 2026, 8 (10), 2925–2933. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmaterialslett.6c00593

Oberhausen, C. M.; Schyns, Z. O. G.; Hawkins, A. W.; Korley, L. T. J.; Vlachos, D. G. Tandem Catalysts for Hydroconversion of Polyethylene-EVOH Multilayer Plastics. Appl. Catal., B 2027, 402, 127436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2026.127436

Mittal, A.; Oberhausen, C. M.; Balzer, A. H.; Dabagian, D.; Bobbin, M. P.; Korley, L. T. J.; Epps, T. H., III; Ierapetritou, M.; Beris, A. N.; Vlachos, D. G. Insights into Mixing of Non-Isothermal Multi-Polymer Melts for Complex Plastics Recycling. Chem. Eng. J. 2026, 547, 180674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2026.180674

Albergamo, V.; Modestino, M. A.; Trasande, L. Measuring What Matters: Particle–Chemical Domains and Analytical Gaps in Biomonitoring of Micro- and Nanoplastics. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2026, 60 (19), 13755–13758. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6c04283

Kots, P. A.; Hinton, Z. R.; Zare, M.; Vance, B. C.; Ley-Flores, M.; de Pablo, J. J.; Epps, T. H., III; Korley, L. T. J.; Valsecchi, M.; Jackson, G.; Galindo, A.; Vlachos, D. G. Impact of Small-Alkane Solvents on Polyolefin Hydrogenolysis over a Ruthenium Catalyst. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2026, 65 (18), 9410–9422. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.6c00853

Padhye, L. P.; Kah, M.; Leitao, E. M.; Bowles, K.; Nathanail, P.; Cousins, I. T.; Figuière, R.; Clarke, B. O.; Partington, J. M.; Alghamdi, W.; Sunderland, E. M.; Ruyle, B. J.; Endo, S.; Brown, T. N.; Wang, Z.; Zheng, S.; Pignatello, J. J.; Smith, S. J.; Riegel, M.; Arp, H. P. H.; Blotevogel, J.; Giraud, R. J.; Rappé, A. K.; Sørmo, E.; Cornelissen, G.; Deshusses, M. A.; Novosselov, I. V.; Ferguson, P. L.; Pinkard, B. R.; Strathmann, T. J.; Gobindlal, K.; Sperry, J.; Cuervo Lumbaque, E.; Duinslaeger, N.; Radjenovic, J.; Hatton, J. The PFAS Roadmap–Navigating a Path Together to Improved Management. Sustainability Sci. Technol. 2026, 3 (1), 012501. https://doi.org/10.1088/2977-3504/ae286f 

Nguyen, D. K.; Schyns, Z. O. G.; Korley, L. T. J.; Vlachos, D. G. Sustainable Upcycling of Polyethylene Waste to Compatibilizers and Valuable Chemicals. Green Chem. 2025, 27 (40), 12642–12658. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5gc02799c

Mhatre, S. V.; Epps, T. H., III; Korley, L. T. J. Reprocessable, Lignin-Derivable, Non-Isocyanate Polyurethane Covalent Adaptable Networks With Complete Recovery of (Thermo)Mechanical Properties. Macromol. Chem. Phys. 2025, 226 (20), e00230. https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.202500230

Wong, Y.-T.; Mahajan, J. S.; Synnott, S.; Korley, L. T. J. Lignin-Derivable, Thermally Healable Thiol-Acrylate Vitrimers with Improved Mechanical Performance and Reprocessability via Transesterification. RSC Sustainability 2025, 3 (9), 4067–4078. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5su00182j

Ngu, J.; Selvam, E.; Kots, P. A.; Najmi, S.; Vlachos, D. G. Optimizing Olefin Production in Microwave Slurry Catalytic Pyrolysis of Low-Density Polyethylene. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2025, 64 (28), 14100–14109. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.5c01638

Hughes, R. W.; Maity, T.; Sergent, T.; Balzer, A. H.; Zastrow, I. S.; Patel, M. S.; Baker, L. M.; Keown, P. M.; Korley, L. T. J.; Sumerlin, B. S. Retrofitting PMMA with a Thermal Trigger for Efficient Depolymerization. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147 (23), 19485–19490. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c05879

Young, J. B.; Bowman, J. I.; Lott, M. E.; Diodati, L. A.; Stevens, K. C.; Hughes, R. W.; Mann, L. E.; Balzer, A. H.; Korley, L. T. J.; Sumerlin, B. S. Bulk Depolymerization of Polystyrene with Comonomer Radical Triggers. ACS Macro Lett. 2025, 14 (5), 576–581. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmacrolett.5c00159

Selvam, E.; Schyns, Z. O. G.; Sun, J. A.; Kots, P. A.; Kwak, Y.; Korley, L. T. J.; Lobo, R. F.; Vlachos, D. G. Conversion of Compositionally Diverse Plastic Waste over Earth-Abundant Sulfides. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147 (13), 11227–11238. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c18001

Antell, E. H.; Yi, S.; Olivares, C. I.; Chaudhuri, S.; Ruyle, B. J.; Alvarez-Cohen, L.; Sedlak, D. L. Selective Quantification of Charged and Neutral Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Using the Total Oxidizable Precursor (TOP) Assay. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2025, 59 (7), 3780–3791. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c13837

Ruyle, B. J.; Pennoyer, E. H.; Vojta, S.; Becanova, J.; Islam, M.; Webster, T. F.; Heiger- Bernays, W.; Lohmann, R.; Westerhoff, P.; Schaefer, C. E.; Sunderland, E. M. High Organofluorine Concentrations in Municipal Wastewater Affect Downstream Drinking Water Supplies for Millions of Americans. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2025, 122 (3), e2417156122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2417156122