Researchers Develop New Catalyst that Completely Breaks Down Nylon-6 within Minutes

Northwestern University chemists have developed a new catalyst that quickly, cleanly and completely breaks down nylon-6 in a matter of minutes — without generating harmful byproducts.

The process does not require toxic solvents, expensive materials or extreme conditions, making it practical for everyday applications.

Not only could this new catalyst play an important role in environmental remediation, it also could perform the first step in upcycling nylon-6 wastes into higher-value products.

Up to 1 Mn Tons of Fishing Gear is Abandoned in the Ocean Each Year

From clothing to carpet to seat belts, nylon-6 is found in a variety of materials that most people use every day. But, when people are done with these materials, they end up in landfills or worse: loose in the environment, including the ocean. According to the World Wildlife Federation, up to 1 million tons of fishing gear is abandoned in the ocean each year, with fishing nets composed of nylon-6 making up at least 46% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

“The whole world is aware of the plastic problem,” said Northwestern’s Tobin Marks, the study’s senior author. “Plastic is a part of our society; we use so much of it. But the problem is: What do we do when we’re finished with it? Ideally, we wouldn’t burn it or put it into landfills. We would recycle it. We’re developing catalysts that deconstruct these polymers, returning them to their original form, so they can be reused.”

“Fishing nets lose quality after a couple years of use,” said Liwei Ye, the paper’s lead first author who is a postdoctoral fellow in Marks’ laboratory. “They become so water-logged that it’s difficult to pull them out of the ocean. And they are so cheap to replace that people just leave them in the water and buy new ones.”

“There is a lot of garbage in the ocean,” Marks added. “Cardboard and food waste biodegrades. Metals sink to the bottom. Then we are left with the plastics.”

Marks is the Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison professor of Chemistry and Vladimir N. Ipatieff professor of Catalytic Chemistry at Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of materials science and engineering at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering.

Source: Northwestern University/Omnexus-specialchem