Katharina Buczek
The physicists completed this remarkable feat by utilizing a high-powered optical laser to blast a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic sheet. PET plastic is the same material used in soda and water bottles.
Then, the plastic was heated to about ten thousand degrees Fahrenheit for just one billionth of a second.
These extreme conditions ultimately created a pressure system that is stronger than Earth’s atmosphere by millions of times. It ultra-compressed the PET plastic and altered its molecular structure.
Finally, the plastic’s carbon atoms started to crystallize– which allowed for oxygen and hydrogen to escape.
So, the remaining crystallized carbon ultimately formed nanodiamonds; meanwhile, the oxygen and hydrogen transformed into “superionic” water or ice.
And amazingly, this discovery can have applications in various sectors. First of all, Dominik Kraus, the study’s co-author, detailed how nanodiamonds could potentially be used to convert carbon dioxide into other needed gasses.
Then, they could deliver medications into the human body.
Additionally, Kraus believes nanodiamonds could be helpful on a cosmic level by acting as “ultrasmall and very precise quantum sensors for temperature and magnetic fields, which may result in a plethora of applications.”
Perhaps most interesting and relevant right now, though, is nanodiamonds’ potential to reduce plastic waste.
Right now, plastics are most commonly recycled into containers such as soda bottles or laundry detergent jugs. Additionally, many companies have rolled out eco-friendly lines of consumer products that use recycled plastics to create everything from sneakers and swimwear to rugs and yoga mats.
But, the sheer cost of creating these items does not present companies with much profit margin. In fact, scrap plastic’s low value, coupled with the high cost of recycling, actually makes recycling plastic more expensive than just manufacturing “virgin plastic,” according to the waste management company RTS.
