Monitoring the Degradation of 4-Sulfonyldipenyl-Pyromellitic Dianhy- dride-Based Polyamic Acid by Trametes Versicolor

Abstract

Polyamic acid (PAA) polymers have been utilized over 60 years in industry as precursors of polyimide, andcurrently direct utilization of PAA polymers have got great attention for material science applications. Massutilization of synthetic polymers pose threat to living organisms and nature, so their effective degradationis important. In this study, for the first time, degradation of 4-sulfonyldipenyl-pyromellitic dianhydridebased PAA (DSPAA) polymers were performed in batch bioreactor system. 1 H COSY NMR was utilized toenlight the possible mechanism behind Tramates versicolor mediated degradation of DSPAA polymer.Elimination of aromatic peaks belong to DSPAA polymer and its amine monomer were monitored toevaluate the degradation while formation of new peaks was taken into account to propose possibledegradation pathway. NMR studies revealed that 20-day incubation in the designed media is enough tototally eliminate 1 mg/mL DSPAA. The findings can contribute to the knowledge of fungi mediatedaromatic polymer degradation, which is accepted a promising way to eliminate polymer pollution.