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“Inorganic polystyrene” is a structural analogy, not polystyrene made from old plastic. In a 2017 study, University of Bristol researchers synthesized polymers with alternating boron and nitrogen atoms in their main chains and aryl groups attached to boron. The familiar polystyrene comparison describes that arrangement; the study did not modify or recycle existing polystyrene.
What does “inorganic polystyrene” mean?
Polystyrene is a familiar polymer with a carbon-based main chain and phenyl groups attached along it. The Bristol team’s materials share the idea of a polymer chain bearing aryl substituents, but their main chains alternate boron and nitrogen instead of carbon. The paper calls them “inorganic analogues of polystyrene with a B–N main chain.” The 2017 paper and the Royal Society of Chemistry’s contemporaneous summary use the comparison to explain the molecular structure, not to claim the substances are polystyrene.
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So “old material” in the headline is rhetorical: researchers made distinct compounds rather than giving existing plastic a new backbone.
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How do the new polymers compare with polystyrene?
| Feature | Polystyrene | B-arylated polyaminoboranes in the study |
|---|---|---|
| Main-chain atoms | Carbon | Alternating boron and nitrogen |
| Substituent motif | Phenyl groups | Aryl groups attached to boron: phenyl or para-trifluoromethylphenyl |
| Evidence described in these sources | Established familiar polymer | Synthesis reported in a 2017 research paper; no commercial replacement or application is established |
This is a comparison of chemical structure and evidence maturity only. The cited sources do not provide matched tests of durability, toxicity, recyclability, cost, or environmental impact, so they do not support claims that the new materials outperform polystyrene on those measures.
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What did the Bristol researchers make?
The paper, “Boron–nitrogen main chain analogues of polystyrene: poly(B-aryl)aminoboranes via catalytic dehydrocoupling,” reports two polymers: [NH₂–BHPh]n and [NH₂–BH(p-CF₃C₆H₄)]n. The first carries phenyl substituents; the second carries para-trifluoromethylphenyl substituents. The authors describe them as the first high-molar-mass polyaminoboranes with an organic substituent at boron. The paper does not state a numerical molar-mass value in the abstract.
The authors were Diego A. Resendiz-Lara, Naomi E. Stubbs, Marius I. Arz, Natalie E. Pridmore, Hazel A. Sparkes, and Ian Manners, of the University of Bristol School of Chemistry; Manners was the corresponding author. The Communication appeared in Chemical Communications, volume 53, pages 11701–11704. It was submitted 19 September 2017, accepted 3 October 2017, and first published 3 October 2017. The paper’s record, abstract, and supplementary-information links are the primary source for the report.
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How were the B–N polymers synthesized?
The researchers used B-aryl amine–borane precursors in solution and an iridium precatalyst, [IrH₂(POCOP)], to drive catalytic dehydropolymerisation. In broad terms, this reaction links precursor units while removing hydrogen, producing the polymer chain. The study presents this as a synthetic route to the reported materials, not as a process for treating or recycling polystyrene.
Does this mean polystyrene has been replaced?
No. The 2017 sources establish that the team synthesized the two B-arylated polyaminoboranes and framed them as polystyrene analogues. They do not establish consumer uses, commercial availability, manufacturing at scale, or replacement performance. The RSC described potentially useful properties as a future prospect, not as a demonstrated application. Whether later work established properties or applications for these exact polymers is not answered by the cited sources.
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Where can you read the experimental details?
Start with the original Chemical Communications paper. Its page links to supplementary information, which is the route to the experimental details. The RSC’s 2017 summary offers a shorter explanation of why the comparison to polystyrene was used.
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