CLEAN - Valorizing Sustainable Plastics through a CLEver use of NANoparticles

To date, materials scientists and engineers have focused on the role of polymers as problem solvers, exploiting their versatility and very attractive qualities, but neglecting the various end-of-life options for plastics articles. Such a way of acting is no longer acceptable, and governments, companies and scientists are urgently looking for sustainable alternatives to crude oil-based products. This proposal addresses this issue proposing a viable route for replacing, totally or in part, ubiquitous petroleum-based plastics. Our strategy is grounded on an innovative use of nanoparticles: rather than banally capitalizing their properties by dispersing them in a single-polymer matrix, we will use them as a clever tool for manipulating the phase morphology and, through it, the properties of blends of bio-plastics and/or recycled plastics. The employ of such low-environmental impact materials is nowadays prevented in many important industrial sectors because of their unacceptably low performances. The main scientific challenge of this proposal is proving that a nanoparticle-assisted design of eco-friendly formulations based on sustainable plastics can result in performances at least comparable to those of petroleum-based plastics. In this sense, CLEAN perfectly fits in the "European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy" [1], adopted on January 16, 2018 with the aim of transforming the way plastic products are designed, used, produced and recycled in the EU. The key points of this regulatory framework that will guide EU decisions on plastics and the environment in the coming years are: better design of plastic products, higher plastic waste recycling efficacy, substitution of environmental impacting materials, smarter design of sustainable materials. In all these areas, this proposal can provide relevant contributions.