Guest PhD Researcher: Maria “Lola” De Dios Caputto
We welcome Lola as she joins our group for a duration of three months from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain.
She is a PhD researcher in the Institute of Polymer Science and Technology (ICTP-CSIC, Spain). She is working on a new methodology for Chemical Upcycling of complex Poly(ethylene terephthalate), following the Sustainability plan set by the European Union.
This project aims to apply a new PET Chemical Recycling methodology, evaluating its applicability to different complex waste streams and its versatility to obtain a material valorization of the different polyols produced, in order to transform them into more sustainable, high performance and high added value polyurethane products. Furthermore, these polyurethanes will be used in various applications such as hydroponic foams, gas barrier materials or solid electrolytes for batteries.