ニューヨーク・タイムズのインスタグラム(nytimes) - 8月9日 06時06分

Most synthetic polymers — the building blocks of plastic — were not designed to disintegrate. They were intended to replace metals and glass in things like cars and planes. But today they’re at the root of the global burden of billions of tons of plastic waste. The latest villains in environmental campaigns are disposable plastic products formed from synthetic polymers: straws, cigarette filters and coffee cup lids, for example. The effects of plastic buildup and the declining popularity of plastics helped to spur chemists on a quest to make new materials with 2 conflicting requirements: They must be durable, but degradable on command. “It’s 2 diametrically opposed criteria that we’re trying to juggle,” said Adam Feinberg, a chemist at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It’s easier to mold a robust plastic without destroying it, he says — but at the same time, it shouldn’t last forever. To make a self-destructing plastic, he mixed the polymers with a little bit of yellow, light-sensitive dye. When light shines on the plastic, the energized dye molecules rip electrons out from the polymers. The loops break, exposing the polymer ends, and the polymers dismantle. @_lyndonfrench_ took this photo of a piece of plastic polymer about to be destroyed under UV light. Visit the link in our profile to read more.

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