Plastic bags can be turned into sensors for safe drinking water

Plastic bags could help detect toxic metals in drinking water. PIC/istock

Researchers in Indonesia have transformed plastic waste into glowing nanomaterials capable of sensing harmful substances in water. At the heart of this breakthrough are carbon quantum dots (CQDs) - nano particles that have a the ability to glow when exposed to ultraviolet light.

CQDs can act as sensors that detect pollutants at the molecular level. Until now, producing CQDs has often required expensive or toxic raw materials. The Indonesian team, however, used waste plastic bags as their starting point.

They combined modified pyrolysis with hydrothermal treatment, and with less than 7 per cent hydrogen peroxide, they transformed the polyethene into functional CQDs in just 10 hours. The most striking aspect of these plastic-derived CQDs is their ability to detect metals, particularly iron ions, in water.

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