Accidental discovery depolymerises commercial plexiglass

A photograph showing mixed plexiglass samples immersed in solvent in a three-necked, round-bottomed flask

Source: © Athina Anastasaki et al/Science/AAAS

Light-triggered process breaks down waste plastic

A new process for chemically recycling commercially available polymethacrylates under visible light has been discovered serendipitously by chemists in Switzerland. The researchers demonstrated that the process, which does not require specially designed polymers, could work on commercial samples of plexiglass.