A research team has successfully recycled common plastic waste into highly functional materials using a low-cost, dip-coating method.
What was done: Using the new method, researchers dissolved plastic waste and then added silicon dioxide nanospheres. When they dipped cotton textiles into the mixture, the result was a highly functional textile that can selectively separate oil/water mixtures, withstand various harsh conditions, and exhibit a self-cleaning property.
The research: The researchers, led by Professor Hua Zhang from City University of Hong Kong, has published their work on 19 March 2022 in Nano Research. The team comprised Qinglang Ma from Beijing Institute of Technology and Nanyang Technological University, and Zhiying Wu, Vlad Andrei Neacsu, Sai Zhao, Yu Chai and Hua Zhang from City University of Hong Kong.
The backdrop: Humans discard a tremendous amount of plastic waste. The plastics in commonly used, discardable items, like cups, bowls, plates, packing materials, and grocery bags, do not naturally decompose easily. Over time, the continued accumulation of waste plastics in the environment could prove fatal for animals on land and in the sea. Microplastic particles that result from the waste plastic are a danger to humans because they can enter a person’s body by being inhaled or consumed with food or drinking water. The plastic waste problem is a major public health threat.
In the past, people have disposed of plastic waste through incineration and landfills. But these disposal methods cannot solve the plastic pollution problem. More recently, scientists have developed polymers that can decompose, as a substitute for traditional plastics. They have also attempted to speed up the decomposition process through bio- and catalytic methods. But these methods have not gained wide acceptance and use, because of their high cost, low yield, and technical difficulties.
How the work was done
- The researchers decided to approach the problem by working to directly recycle the plastic waste into functional materials, thereby easing the strain on the environment of plastic waste going into incinerators or landfills.
- The team then turned their attention to superhydrophobic materials. With their ability to repel water, these materials show strong promise in applications ranging from water remediation to self-cleaning surfaces to anti-corrosion to anti-icing.
- Traditionally, fabricating superhydrophobic materials required expensive and complicated processes. But the researchers set out to demonstrate that plastic waste could be a promising candidate as an alternative raw material for the low-cost preparation of superhydrophobic materials.
- Working toward that goal, the research team developed a facile dip-coating method to recycle plastic waste and then use it as a raw material to prepare a novel superhydrophobic textile.
- To conduct their research, they used polystyrene, one of the mostly used plastic material in everyday objects such as food containers and coffee cups. They dissolved the polystyrene food containers and then added silicon dioxide nanospheres. Next, they immersed a cotton textile into the mixture. Once the dipped textile dried, the result was a polystyrene/silicon dioxide-coated textile.
The silicon dioxide nanospheres gave the surface of the textile a certain roughness. The newly created material is highly functional.
In the team's own words
Impressively, it (the newly created material) also shows an excellent resistance towards harsh environments, such as corrosive solutions, high temperature treatment, and mechanical abrasion. In addition, the textile exhibits the self-cleaning property and the capability to be dyed and preserve its colour, making it a promising material for developing self-cleaning wearable fabric materials.
- Professor Hua Zhang
Principal Investigator
