Suitably designed degradable polymers can play a role in reducing plastic waste Around 50 years ago, interest arose in making plastics that can degrade in the environment (1). Since then, a stream of research efforts has chased the dream of environmentally friendly materials that disappear without leaving behind fragments or harmful products. Such environmentally degradable plastics are, however, difficult to produce in practice. Durability is one of the requirements for plastic in most technical applications, whereas degradability is necessary for recycling in nature. Although advances are being made in developing degradable materials with suitable properties for particular applications, it is crucial that they are seen as part of a range of approaches and that degradation will always require particular conditions that depend on the specific material and its chemical and physical structure and composition.

中文翻译：

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旨在降级

适当设计的可降解聚合物可以在减少塑料废物方面发挥作用 大约 50 年前，人们对制造可在环境中降解的塑料产生了兴趣 (1)。从那时起，一连串的研究努力追逐着环保材料消失而不留下碎片或有害产品的梦想。然而，这种环境可降解塑料在实践中难以生产。耐用性是大多数技术应用中对塑料的要求之一，而可降解性是自然界回收利用的必要条件。尽管在开发具有适用于特定应用的特性的可降解材料方面正在取得进展，