University of Adelaide researchers have developed a process
for turning waste plastic bags into a high-tech nanomaterial.
The innovative nanotechnology uses non-biodegradable plastic
grocery bags to make 'carbon nanotube membranes' ‒ highly sophisticated and
expensive materials with a variety of potential advanced applications including
filtration, sensing, energy storage and a range of biomedical innovations.
"Non-biodegradable plastic bags are a serious menace to
natural ecosystems and present a problem in terms of disposal," says
Professor Dusan Losic, ARC Future Fellow and Research Professor of
Nanotechnology in the University's School of Chemical Engineering.