| 초록 |
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is massively being discarded after use throughout modern society and poses environmental risks. Recently, it has been reported that some microbial enzyme, IsPETase, can sequentially decompose PET into its monomer, terepthalic acid (TPA). However, despite its eco-friendliness, this enzyme shows low degrading efficiency compared to pyrolysis or solvolysis. In order to solve this problem, we enhanced the degrading efficiency of enzymatic degradation by inducing surface modification of PET using free radical formed by UV light irradiation. The hydrophilic functional groups on the surface of the PET film increased as a result of the UV pretreatment. In addition, the monomer concentration (TPA) increased when the PET was UV pretreated. These results suggest a plausible strategy to overcome the fundamental limitation of the efficiency of PET degradation. |
