ISC2024 Polymers

Polymers in the form of plastics have become an integral part of our lives. At the International Science Camp 2024, seven participants from Germany, Israel, Korea, Spain, Hungary, the USA and Cyprus experienced in theory and practice how they are produced and how fossil raw materials can be replaced by natural resources.

After learning about the relationship between the properties of polymers and their chemical structure as well as the most important reactions for polymer synthese, our motivated guests used this knowledge to synthesize widely used polymers such as polystyrene and nylon. The participants were particularly fascinated by a series of chemical processes that build on each other, with which they were able to successfully produce their own transparent plastic films from wood s the raw material.

The processing of polymers into technical products was also on the agenda, so that not only was the self-produced polystyrene further processed into polystyrene, but the composition of a PVC-based floor covering was also investigated. Experiments on the production of the required monomers and the recycling or even upcycling of used plastic products using the electrospinning process rounded off the examination of the “life cycle” of polymers.