In a Fort Collins chemistry lab, researchers have figured out how to transform carbon dioxide — the same gas that contributes to climate change — into strong, flexible plastics that can be recycled again and again.
University Distinguished Professor Eugene Chen and postdoctoral researcher Min Zhu at Colorado State University developed a process that combines captured carbon dioxide with a special molecule called bicycloalkane. An organic catalyst kicks off a chemical reaction that builds new materials from these ingredients. The result is a type of plastic that can be customized to be as tough as hard plastics used in toys and containers, or soft like rubber bands.
What makes this discovery exciting is what happens at the end. Unlike most plastics made today, which pile up in landfills for hundreds of years, the building blocks of these new materials can be recovered and reused. "Our approach unlocks the potential for carbon dioxide as a renewable and inexpensive resource to produce recyclable polyesters that also exhibit performance-advantage and beneficial end-of-life properties," Chen said.
Carbon dioxide has always been abundant and inexpensive to obtain. Scientists have known for decades that it could theoretically be turned into useful materials, but the challenge was figuring out how to incorporate enough of it into products while keeping them recyclable and environmentally friendly. The Colorado State team solved that problem by finding a more efficient chemical reaction.
"We are developing an integrated technology that turns carbon dioxide capture into an intermediate as a building block for production of sustainable materials of many types and needs," Chen said. The team published their findings in the journal Nature.
The research adds to a growing movement called the circular economy — a system where materials are reused rather than thrown away after a single use. Polymers created from this process could help reduce plastic waste that litters oceans and fills landfills. Zhu noted that this approach could help "close the carbon cycle by repurposing these emissions effectively."
The researchers say they look forward to working with the broader scientific community to develop the technology further. If scaled up, it could mean the carbon dioxide emitted from factories and power plants might one day become part of new products instead of warming the planet.