Waste-Polypropylene Photonic Material Production
Official patent title
Method for making smart optical materials by solution polymerization
Arabic title: طريقة تصنيع مواد بصرية ذكية بالبلمرة في المحلول
Invention
Invention
Problem
Waste polypropylene persists in the environment, while conventional mechanical recycling can degrade physical properties instead of creating higher-value functional materials.
Why it matters
Converting persistent plastic into a characterized optical material could link waste reuse with the production of components for photonics and optoelectronic research.
Approach
The method dissolves polypropylene and combines it with a zinc-containing, rhodamine-B-loaded 2-hydroxyethyl-methacrylate solution. Peroxide-initiated polymerization forms a hybrid material with two stated bandgaps and defined optical, thermal, and electrical characteristics.
Who may benefit
Potential beneficiaries include advanced-recycling developers, photonics laboratories, laser-material teams, optoelectronics researchers, and specialty-polymer manufacturers.
Potential value
The route incorporates a waste-polypropylene embodiment into a hybrid polymer whose bandgaps, spectral response, thermal behavior, and impedance are specified in the publication.
Background
Background
Polypropylene is widely used but resists biodegradation because of its carbon-chain backbone, contributing to persistent waste. Mechanical recycling can grind, melt, and remold plastics, yet repeated processing may reduce material properties. Chemical reuse offers a route to transform waste into a different functional composition rather than reproduce the original commodity polymer. The publication combines polypropylene with a polymerized hydroxyethyl-methacrylate matrix, rhodamine B, and zinc acetate to create an optical material intended for laser and optoelectronic research.
Technology overview
Technology overview
Polypropylene is dissolved in a solvent as a first solution. Zinc acetate is dissolved in 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate with heating, after which rhodamine B and a peroxide initiator are added. Combining the solutions polymerizes the methacrylate, and drying separates the smart optical material. After processing, the disclosed particles have two bandgaps and reported absorption, fluorescence, visible laser peaks, melting-point, and impedance characteristics.
Potential applications
Potential applications
- Active material for experimental laser systems at the reported visible peaks.
- Hybrid semiconductor particles for optoelectronic device research.
- Spectrally responsive material for photonics and optical-sensing studies.
- Value-added chemical reuse of waste polypropylene in specialty materials.
Evidence-supported advantages
Evidence-supported advantages
- Waste polypropylene can be incorporated into the disclosed functional material.
- The product has two stated electronic bandgaps.
- The publication describes absorption, fluorescence, laser, thermal, and impedance characterization.
- Rhodamine B and polypropylene are described as homogeneously dispersed in the polymer matrix.
- The solution-polymerization route has defined reagents and heating conditions.
Development stage
Development stage
Laboratory synthesis and optical, electrical, and thermal characterization are described; commercialization was not established.
Commercial opportunity
Commercial opportunity
The material may support licensing discussions with photonics, specialty-polymer, or advanced-recycling partners. Device development should verify optical gain, lifetime, batch consistency, waste-feedstock tolerance, solvent recovery, process safety, scale-up, and integration into a defined laser or optoelectronic architecture. Cost and throughput benchmarks would also be needed.
Patent classifications
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
Inventors
- First inventorHajo Idriss Mohammed Idriss
- InventorKhalid Hassan Ibnouf Ahmed
- InventorOsamah Abdulrahman Aldaghri
- InventorAbueliz Khalid Modwi Khalid
- InventorAmin Osman Elzupir Alamalhuda
Keywords
Keywords
- smart optical material
- solution polymerization
- polypropylene
- rhodamine B
- poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)
- bandgap
- laser material
- optoelectronics
Patent document and drawings
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.