Process turns waste plastic bags into high tech nanomaterial

"Non-biodegradable plastic bags are a serious menace to natural ecosystems and present a problem in terms of disposal," says Professor Dusan Losic, from the University of Adelaide. "Transforming these waste materials through nanotechnological recycling provides a potential solution for minimising environmental pollution at the same time as producing high-added value products." To begin, the Adelaide team 'grew' carbon nanotubes onto nanoporous alumina membranes. They then used pieces of plastic bags that had been vapourised in a furnace to produce carbon layers. These then lined the pores in the membrane to make the tiny cylinders (carbon nanotubes). "What we've developed is a new and simplified method of fabrication with controllable dimensions and shapes, and using a waste product as the carbon source," concluded Professor Losic.