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A greener glitter and respinning NMR tunes
Summary
This news article discusses the development of a bio-inspired, plastic-free glitter made from cellulose nanocrystals at the University of Cambridge. Unlike conventional glitter made from PET plastic, the new material produces color through light interference rather than dyes and is biodegradable.
All that glitters isn’t microplastic Glitter is sparkly, fun, and the scourge of the earth—ask anyone who’s ever cleaned up after a crafting party for 6-year-olds. But because most glitter is made from the plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET), it can be a scourge to the environment, too. “You don’t necessarily want single-use plastic and microplastic particles in the environment,” says Benjamin Droguet , a graduate student studying bioinspired photonics at the University of Cambridge. In addition to the plastic pollution, traditional glitter can also have traces of heavy metals and polymer initiators left over from the synthesis process. Glitter also can’t be recycled, so what’s someone who’s ecoconscious but also fabulous to do? Enter biodegradable glitter. Led by materials chemist Silvia Vignolini , Droguet and coworkers figured out how to make biodegradable glitter in 1/3 m 2 sheets using nanocrystalline cellulose ( Nat. Mater. 2021, DOI: 10.1038/s41563-021-01135-8 ). Cellulose nanocrystals