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In 2014, consumers around the world discarded about 42 million metric tons of e-waste, according to a report by the United Nations University. This poses an environmental and human threat because electronic products are made up of many components, some of which are toxic or non-degradable. To help address the issue, Xinlong Wang and colleagues sought to develop a degradable material that could be used for electronic substrates or insulators.
The researchers started with polylactic acid, or PLA, which is a bioplastic that can be derived from corn starch or other natural sources and is already used in the packaging, electronics and automotive industries. PLA by itself, however, is brittle and flammable, and doesn't have the right electrical properties to be a good electronic substrate or insulator. But the researchers found that blending metal-organic framework nanoparticles with PLA resulted in a transparent film with the mechanical, electrical and flame retardant properties that make the material a promising candidate for use in electronics.
Original Study: DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.6b04204
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Friday April 21 2017, @06:43PM (1 child)
Perhaps you should take your own advice:
So if you have a project where you are making starch plastic at home, it is NOT technically “PLA plastic.” But you are correct in calling it “start plastic.”* We talk a little bit more about the difference between PLA and starch plastic in another article here.
*I think he meant to write "starch" plastic. It's fairly clear from the context and link in the article.
(Score: 2) by YeaWhatevs on Sunday April 23 2017, @01:42AM
Just stop. They tried to refute me and show there was a way to DIY make plastic, but failed. No, much as I would like to see DIY plastic this is not it. A polymer it is, but then so is jello. To be called plastic it must have properties (long chain) that allow us to make useful items like utinsels and bottles and toys that last. This starch recipie can be fun to try, but ultimately useless for those things. Not plastic.