A special type of plastic that easily breaks down into its component molecules when exposed to a specific type of light has been developed by researchers at North Dakota State University, Fargo. These molecules can then be used to build newer types of plastic.

Plastic are everywhere, from electronics, to packaging and even vehicles. The problem is that plastics can't be broken down by natural decomposition and ends-up polluting the world we live in.

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The new type of plastic, however, aims to junk that notion since it can easily be broken down and recycled.

The team used biomass to develop the new plastic. They used oilseed from agricultural crops, cellulose, lignin and sucrose to generate building blocks of molecules that formed the polymers needed to form plastics.

One of the challenges they addressed was lessening the dependency on fossil fuels. That's why they turned to biomass, a renewable resource.

"Real sustainability involves breaking it back into the building blocks. We have shown that we can break it down into the building blocks and re-make the polymer," said Dr. Mukund Sibi, a researcher from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

For the researcher's experiment, the team used fructose found commonly in fruits. They took the fructose and used it to create a solution of molecules that could then be manipulated into creating plastics.

They also showed how easy it was to dispose of the new polymer. They didn't have to burn it or rip it to shreds.

Instead, the team just exposed the plastic to ultraviolet light at 350 nanometers for three hours. The plastic degraded and was reduced to the soluble building block materials that created it.

"Our strategy has the potential to build novel materials from biomass that are degradable with light after usage, mitigating the stress of unwanted chemicals in our environment," said Dr. Sivaguru Jayaraman.

TagsPlastic, Light, polymers