Takeaways:
- A group of chemists at the University of North Carolina have discovered a method to break down plastics and to create a new material that will be tougher, stronger and potentially more valuable than the original.
- Through a series of experiments on different materials, the chemists found by pulling hydrogen atoms from polyolefin, they could expand the life of single use plastics into high-value plastic known as ionome.
- “We hope this method could drive an economic incentive to recycle plastic, literally turning trash into treasure” said Frank Leibfarth, assistant professor of chemistry in the UNC College of Arts & Sciences.
