Science Newsfrom research organizations
Self-healing plastic becomes biodegradable
Date:
July 27, 2023
Source:
University of Konstanz
Summary:
Chemists develop mineral plastics with numerous positive properties from sustainable basic building blocks and, together with biologists, demonstrate the material's excellent microbiological degradability.
FULL STORY
Imagine a plastic like this: harder than common plastics, non-flammable, and even with self-healing properties. But that is not all! It can be produced at room temperature in water, which is very energy-efficient and does not require toxic solvents. Before hardening, you can shape the plastic in any way you want -- like chewing gum. By adding water, it can also be converted back to its "chewing gum" form at any time, reshaped and thus recycled as often as desired.
Is that impossible? No, it is not! In 2016, the research team around Konstanz chemist Helmut Cölfen presented just such a material -- a mineral plastic. However, even though the plastic, with its novel manufacturing process and outstanding material properties, has since attracted great interest from industry, it still had a crucial shortcoming from the Konstanz chemists' point of view: due to its chemical composition, it was difficult to biodegrade.
A new ingredient for greater environmental compatibility
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230727144156.htm
