alt.hn

3/15/2026 at 1:46:43 PM

We turned plastic waste into vinegar: A sunlight-powered breakthrough

https://phys.org/news/2026-03-plastic-vinegar-sunlightpowered-breakthrough.html

by Brajeshwar

3/15/2026 at 6:52:56 PM

> Colleagues and I recently published research that explores a very different possibility: using sunlight and an iron-based catalyst to convert common plastic waste directly into acetic acid—the key component of vinegar and an important industrial chemical.

> Instead of treating plastic purely as waste, our research shows that it can be transformed into something useful under mild conditions.

The paper: Wei Wei et al., Bio-Inspired Cascade Photocatalysis on Fe Single-Atom Carbon Nitride Upcycles Plastic Wastes for Effective Acetic Acid Production https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aenm.20...

by treetalker

3/15/2026 at 3:18:12 PM

> Importantly, the reaction operated at room temperature and normal atmospheric pressure.

Neat!

by happymellon