Publications by authors named "Baggya Karunarathna"
Article Synopsis
- Scopolin and scopoletin are natural antioxidants from the coumarin class that have exhibited radical scavenging properties, but their mechanisms of action were not well understood until this study.
- Using Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations, researchers found that scopoletin has a stronger antioxidant activity compared to scopolin, as indicated by its lower band gap energy and activation energy for radical scavenging.
- The study identified hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) as the primary mechanism for both compounds in scavenging radicals, with scopolin and scopoletin showing significant differences in bond dissociation energies that influence their antioxidant capacities.
Context: Plastic waste pyrolysis offers a potential solution to reduce plastic accumulation, but prioritizing monomer recovery from the process is crucial to effectively address the environmental consequences of plastic accumulation. This study focuses on enhancing the yield of styrene during the pyrolysis of polystyrene by investigating thermal and kinetic data. A comprehensive investigation into the thermal degradation pathways of polystyrene is imperative to overcome the challenges associated with its waste management.
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- The study focuses on segmented polyurethanes, particularly MDI-BDO hard segments, and aims to understand their physicochemical properties, which are influenced by variations in their structure and chemistry.
- The research identifies that the trans isomer of urethane bonds is more stable than the cis isomer, and it suggests that a transformation between these forms is unlikely due to energy barriers.
- The findings offer insights into the different chemical reactivity and interactions (like hydrogen bonding) of these isomers, laying the groundwork for future studies and improving the model by adding soft segments.