For the first time, scientists have used ultraviolet (UV) light, a low-cost and readily available energy source, to successfully synthesise more sustainable and recyclable polymer materials.
For the first time, scientists have used ultraviolet (UV) light, a low-cost and readily available energy source, to successfully synthesise more sustainable and recyclable polymer materials.
Led by green chemistry experts at Flinders University, and just published in the high-impact Journal of the American Chemical Society, the development is a major step in making polymers high in sulfur content for more sustainable plastic alternatives using waste materials.
Over the past decade, the Flinders University team has shown these highly flexible sulfur-rich polymers can be used in a wide range of high-value applications – from heavy metal land and water remediation as well as optics for infrared imaging and even novel antimicrobial agents. The latest research promises to make them even more adaptable and affordable.
“We show these remarkable new polymers can be produced in more sustainable ways, and also recycled using low-cost accessible energy sources including UV light and LED, as well as using other methods,” says lead author Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award Fellow Dr Thomas Nicholls, from the College of Science and Engineering at Flinders University.
Read More: Flinders University
Photo Credit: Bru-nO via Pixabay
