Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Revolutionary Biodegradable Nylon Precursor Created via Artificial Photosynthesis

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Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

An artificial photosynthesis technology for producing biodegradable nylon from biomass-derived compounds and ammonia has been developed.

Biodegradable plastics made from biomass-derived compounds are attracting attention as alternatives to conventional plastics synthesized from fossil fuels. Similarly, nylon, used in products such as umbrellas, fishing lines, and sportswear, is also produced from fossil fuels and does not biodegrade in nature, leading to environmental pollution. Therefore, there is a demand for alternative materials.



Professor Yutaka Amao (Research Center for Artificial Photosynthesis) and graduate student Kyosuke Yamada, a first-year Master's student in the Department of Chemistry at the Graduate School of Science, have developed an artificial photosynthesis technology to synthesize a biodegradable nylon precursor using biomass-derived compounds and ammonia. By focusing on the chemical structure of biodegradable plastic raw materials, they selected amino acids with similar structures as raw materials for nylon-type biodegradable plastics. Furthermore, they have succeeded in synthesizing this precursor using solar energy.


This research has been published online in the journal Sustainable Energy & Fuels of the Royal Society of Chemistry on November 12, 2024.


By introducing a biocatalyst for amino acid production into a photoredox system, we have succeeded in synthesizing a biodegradable nylon precursor from biomass-derived compounds. Although the experiments were a series of painstaking efforts, we are delighted to have achieved these results. We hope that this research will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and solving environmental pollution.


source:Osaka Metropolitan University

URL:https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SE01215A

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