Scientists have developed a new type of plastic that can break down on demand, offering a promising solution to the world’s growing plastic pollution problem.
Inspired by natural materials like DNA and proteins, which eventually decompose, researchers designed new plastics with built-in chemical features that trigger their breakdown when exposed to certain conditions such as ultraviolet light or specific metals.
Unlike conventional plastics that persist for centuries or fragment into microplastics, these materials can degrade into their original molecular components, which can potentially be reused to make new plastics. The approach could allow manufacturers to essentially “program” a product’s lifespan, e.g. from days for simple packaging to many years for more durable goods.
Inspired by the natural, timely breakdown of organic materials like proteins and DNA, chemists at Rutgers University in the U.S. have now modified existing plastics so that they can be programmed to break down into their molecular components at the end of a specific period of time, or in response to a trigger, such as sunlight.
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