The influence of the amount of catalyst on the degree of sulfonation in the sulfonation process on waste-based Styrofoam (polystyrene) into Poly-(Styrene Sulfonic Acid)

Abstract This study aims to determine the influence of the amount of Ag2SO4 silver sulfate catalyst and amount of time on the degree of sulfonation in waste-based Styrofoam (polystyrene) into Poly-Styrene Sulfonic Acid (PSSA). The method used is sulfonation with sulfuric acid H2SO4 as a sulfonating agent. Based on the research, the sulfonation reaction was successfully carried out, which was shown by the functional group in the FTIR test and the highest degree of sulfonation achieved was 67.6%, which come from variation amount of 2% Ag2SO4 catalyst and 25 minutes of reaction time.