US 12152091 B1Patent grantUnited States

Waste-Polypropylene Optical Material Production

Official patent title

Solution polymerization method for smart optical material

Arabic title: طريقة البلمرة بالمحلول لإنتاج مادة بصرية ذكية

Invention

Problem

Waste polypropylene is persistent and difficult to convert into higher-value products, while mechanical recycling can degrade material properties. Photonics developers also need tunable optical materials for laser and optoelectronic applications.

Why it matters

A route that incorporates waste polypropylene into a functional optical composite could create a value-added reuse pathway while providing a material with defined absorption, fluorescence, bandgap, and laser-response characteristics.

Approach

The method dissolves polypropylene, polymerizes 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate with benzoyl peroxide in the presence of zinc acetate and rhodamine B, and incorporates the polypropylene and dye into a poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) matrix to form a smart optical material.

Who may benefit

Potential beneficiaries include photonics and laser-material developers, optoelectronics researchers, specialty-polymer manufacturers, and organizations exploring value-added chemical reuse of polypropylene waste.

Potential value

The disclosed composite links a waste-plastic feedstock with a polymerized optical matrix and reports two bandgaps, characteristic absorption and fluorescence peaks, laser emission under 355 nm excitation, and measurable electrical impedance.

Background

Polypropylene is widely used because it is light and mechanically durable, but its carbon–carbon backbone resists degradation and contributes to persistent waste. Mechanical recycling can reduce material performance, while chemical reuse may create products with new functions. The patent proposes a value-added route rather than simply remolding polypropylene: it embeds the polymer, including waste polypropylene in some embodiments, with rhodamine B and zinc-containing poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) to obtain a semiconductor-like optical material for laser and optoelectronic research.

Technology overview

Polypropylene is dissolved in tetrahydrofuran in a claimed embodiment. Zinc acetate is mixed with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, followed by rhodamine B and benzoyl peroxide; peroxide-initiated polymerization then forms the matrix around dispersed polypropylene and dye. The resulting 0.5–5 μm particles have claimed bandgaps of 1.4–1.5 and 1.8–1.9 eV, absorption and fluorescence peaks, laser peaks at 650 and 685 nm under 355 nm irradiation, and specified impedance and melting-point ranges.

Potential applications

Candidate gain material for laser-system research.
Smart optical components for optoelectronic development.
Semiconductor-like polymer composites for photonics studies.
Value-added chemical reuse of waste polypropylene.

Evidence-supported advantages

Can incorporate waste polypropylene into a functional optical composite.
Provides two defined optical bandgaps in the claimed material.
Reports distinct absorption, fluorescence, and laser-emission features.
Produces non-aggregated particles with homogeneous dye and polypropylene dispersion.
Combines optical and electrical characteristics in one polymer material.

Development stage

Material synthesis and optical and electrical characterization are described; device-level commercialization was not established.

Commercial opportunity

The material may interest specialty-polymer, photonics, laser, and plastic-upcycling developers. Translation into a product would require scalable solvent recovery, feedstock-tolerance studies, reproducible optical properties, device integration, lifetime testing, and comparison with established gain or semiconductor materials. Environmental benefit also depends on solvent management and life-cycle evidence.

Patent classifications

WIPO IPC

C08F120/06Macromolecular compounds obtained by reactions involving only carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
C08F2/06Macromolecular compounds obtained by reactions involving only carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds

CPC

C08F120/06Macromolecular compounds obtained by reactions involving only carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
C08F2/06Macromolecular compounds obtained by reactions involving only carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
C08F2/44Macromolecular compounds obtained by reactions involving only carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
C08F220/20Macromolecular compounds obtained by reactions involving only carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
C08L23/06Compositions of macromolecular compounds
C08L33/066Compositions of macromolecular compounds
H01S5/36Devices using light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation [LASER] to amplify or generate light; stimulated-emission devices for non-optical electromagnetic radiation

Inventors

First inventorHajo Idriss Mohammed Idriss
InventorKhalid Hassan Ibnouf Ahmed
InventorOsamah Abdulrahman Aldaghri
InventorAbueliz Khalid Modwi Khalid
InventorAmin Osman Elzupir Alamalhuda

Keywords

smart optical material
polypropylene upcycling
rhodamine B
poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)
optical bandgap
laser emission
optoelectronics
solution polymerization

Patent document and drawings

The patent publication is mapped to this record. Patent drawings remain within that publication; no separately cleared public media package has been supplied.