![polymer upcycling infographic](/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/inline-images/DOE_Polymer_Upcycling_Infographic_R6web%20%281%29.jpg?itok=gP0z_ScR)
The 300 million tons of plastics created and discarded annually consume 6 to 8 percent of the crude oil and natural gas produced worldwide. These polymers are a tremendous untapped domestic resource for the production of chemicals and new materials.
As a feedstock, their potential could be unlocked through upcycling, but current and conventional catalysis methods do not provide the necessary chemical transformations. Our research mission is to create a new generation of catalysts that enable chemical upcycling of energy-rich macromolecules. Our approach focuses on the synthesis of new catalytic materials designed to break specific bonds in the backbone of macromolecules, selectively producing valuable molecular products.
![iCOUP research overview](/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/inline-images/overview_weave_FP%2BADS_5-01.jpg?itok=c7oupBb6)
The multidisciplinary team creates these new catalysts, studies their performance in polymer upcycling catalysis, and interrogates their modes of operation on molecular and nanometer scales employing a combination of advanced spectroscopy, kinetic measurements, simulations, and multiscale theoretical models.