X-Ray Diffraction & Recyclable Materials: Relationship Between Polymer Crystallinity and Supported Weight

Authors:

• Students:
  • Yumna Ahmed
  • Natalie Deguzman
  • Caitlyn Elizaga
  • Joseph Jorgenson
  • Collin Kao
  • Taylor Primack
  • Tyler Steffen
• Teachers:
  • Sofia Liarakos
  • Irina Stan
  • Paul Strzyinski
• Mentors:
  • John Quintana (Argonne National Laboratory, Energy and Global Security)

Advanced Photon Source Sector 5: DND-CAT

Conservation and stewardship of the Earth’s natural resources have long been recognized as an important step in preserving our planet for future generations. The purpose of this project is to test the strength of joints created by heating plastic bottles around solid materials and determine the optimal structure to hold the most weight, with the purpose of exploring alternative uses for recyclable plastics as building materials. This project measured the strength of joints created by heated plastic bottles and used X-Ray diffraction to analyze the structural changes in plastic at the breakpoint: the crystalline structure and the orientation of crystallites. It was noted that adding joint depressions to the wood increased the amount of weight hold. Changes to the plastic did not have a major effect on the crystallinity of the material. Further research on this topic could reveal information about the use of plastics as building materials to be used in joint construction.

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