Microplastics – tiny plastic debris that can enter our bodies through the water we drink and expose us to illnesses – have also been marked for their adverse impact on the environment. Filtering membranes have had limited results because the membranes can become clogged with these tiny particles, rendering them unsustainable. An IISc team led by Suryasarathi Bose, Professor at the Department of Materials Engineering, turned to 3D hydrogels for a solution. The material has an intertwined polymer network that can bind the contaminants and degrade them using UV light irradiation, IISc said.
The team crushed food container lids and other daily-use plastic products to create two of the most common microplastics: polyvinyl chloride and polypropylene. The hydrogel could remove about 95 per cent and 93 per cent of the two different types of of microplastics in water at near-neutral pH (∼6.5). Tests also validated the material’s durability.
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It'll be great to help our oceans, lakes, and rivers.