Scientists create process to upcycle plastics into energy-storage liquids using light-emitting diodes
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have created a process that can upcycle most plastics into chemical ingredients useful for energy storage, using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and a commercially available catalyst, all at room temperature.
The new process is very energy-efficient and can be easily powered by renewable energy in the future, unlike other heat-driven recycling processes like pyrolysis.
This innovation overcomes the current challenges in recycling plastics such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS), which are typically incinerated or discarded in landfills. Globally, only nine percent of plastics are recycled, and plastic pollution is growing at an alarming rate.
The biggest challenge of recycling these plastics is their inert carbon-carbon bonds, which are very stable and thus require a significant amount of energy to break. This bond is also the reason why these plastics are resistant to many chemicals and have relatively high melting points.
The speaker itself a miniature little device the size of a… well, walnut. Made from the walnut’s shell, it packs all the necessary components inside, including a mini battery, amp, driver, Bluetooth module, USB-C port, and even buttons and LEDs to control playback or increase/decrease the volume.
Now, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev chemists have come together to combine their expertise and produce new responsive polymers. Their findings were just published in Nature Chemistry.
Prof. Yossi Weizmann makes gold nanoparticles that convert light into heat. Prof. Gabi Lemcoff makes latent catalysts that need to be triggered. The two, as well as MSc student Nir Lemcoff, put their heads together and spent two years developing a new kind of polymer and a more efficient and environmentally friendly way to make chemical reactions happen.
"If you add my gold nanoparticles into the liquid solution with Prof. Lemcoff's latent catalysts, then the heat that they generate triggers the catalysts turning the liquid into a solid. That solid quickly heats up when exposed to LED light," explains Prof. Weizmann.
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"Let's say we build a Mars habitat. It's cold there, so it will need to be underground. But there's no electricity. So, you could build it with these polymers and then shine low energy light on them to heat them up," he said with his eyes alight.
Liiu is a modular lighting sculpture that uses balance and weightlessness to construct a composition that is adjustable for any setting. Luminous LEDs are woven into a slender stainless steel structure, creating a pattern that transforms as you move around it. Like a willow tree in the breeze, the light curtain is mesmerizing in its simultaneous presence and ephemerality.
New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting.
Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and Astronomy, and the School of Chemistry have proposed a new approach to designing efficient light-emitting materials in a paper published this week in Nature (27 March).
Light-emitting materials are used in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) that are now found in the majority of mobile phone displays and smartwatches, and some televisions and automotive lighting.
The latest generation of emitter materials under development produce OLEDs that have high efficiency at low brightness, but suffer reduced efficiency as the brightness is increased to the levels required for lighting and outdoor applications. This problem is known as 'efficiency roll-off'.