Polyethylene plastics—in particular, the ubiquitous plastic bag that blights the landscape—are notoriously hard to recycle. They're sturdy and difficult to break down, and if they're recycled at all, they're melted into ...
Polymers
Sep 29, 2022
1
167
Scientists have designed a new material system to overcome one of the biggest challenges in recycling consumer products: mixed-plastic recycling. Their achievement will help enable a much broader range of fully recyclable ...
Polymers
Jul 20, 2022
0
136
Researchers have created a plant-based, sustainable, scalable material that could replace single-use plastics in many consumer products.
Materials Science
Jun 10, 2021
6
1690
Following bans on plastic microbeads in wash-off cosmetics, a new study weighs up the environmental costs of alternatives.
Environment
Dec 14, 2020
0
180
When we started using plastics about 70 years ago, not much thought—if any—was given to the implications of their lifespan and the fact that they can take centuries to decompose. Consequently, as plastics have diversified ...
Materials Science
Oct 22, 2020
2
501
Ecologists studying the prevalence of plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems around the world are concerned after measuring the scale of human response needed to reduce future emissions and manage what's already floating ...
Environment
Sep 17, 2020
2
1038
Utah State University Assistant Professor Janice Brahney and her team used high-resolution atmospheric deposition data and identified samples of microplastics and other particulates collected over 14 months in 11 national ...
Environment
Jun 11, 2020
12
385
Taking their cue from the humble leaf, researchers have used microscopic folds on the surface of photovoltaic material to significantly increase the power output of flexible, low-cost solar cells.
Optics & Photonics
Apr 27, 2012
8
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- LG Display has set the production clock ticking for a plastic EPD (electronic paper display) product which in turn is expected to set e-book marketability fast-forward. In an announcement Thursday, Korea-based ...
Physicists at Rutgers University have discovered new properties in a material that could result in efficient and inexpensive plastic solar cells for pollution-free electricity production.
Nanomaterials
Oct 10, 2010
6
0
