microwave plastic tagged posts

Researchers have discovered that soaking low density plastic in a sulfur-containing solvent, putting it into a microwave and transforming it into a carbon scaffold makes lithium-sulfur batteries last longer and retain elevated capacity. Credit: Purdue University/Patrick Kim

Purdue engineers have figured out a way to tackle plastic landfills while also improving batteries – by putting ink-free plastic soaked in sulfur-containing solvent into a microwave, and then into batteries as a carbon scaffold. Lithium-sulfur batteries have been hailed as the next generation of batteries to replace the current lithium ion variety. Lithium-sulfur batteries are cheaper and more energy-dense than lithium ions, which would be important characteristics in everything from electric vehicles to laptops...