The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Duke University a $500,000 Project Grant under the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) program. The purpose of this 26-month grant is to use an innovative approach to address the critical environmental challenge posed by plastic waste and the urgent need for scalable direct air capture technologies. Duke's research focuses on the chemical upcycling of polymers, transforming discarded plastics into high-value adsorbents for cost-effective carbon capture. The project leverages the inherent properties of plastics - durability and resistance to degradation - to repurpose them into porous adsorbents through a series of strategic modifications. The core of the approach lies in deconstructing polymers into functionalized intermediates and reconstructing them under mild conditions.
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