To tackle the growing pollution crisis, scientists at RIKEN in Japan have developed a new type of plastic that remains stable ...

Plastics are durable and strong, which is great while they’re being used but frustrating when they end up in the environment.

Japanese scientists at RIKEN CEMS, led by Takuzo Aida, have developed a new supramolecular plastic that maintains strength in ...

Biodegradable plastics, such as polylactic acid (PLA), were introduced as an alternative. However, PLA takes too long to ...

Supramolecular polymers are polymers in which the monomers are linked through non-covalent interactions such as coordination bonds, π-π interactions or hydrogen bonds. Rotaxanes offer a strategy ...

Supramolecular materials that fully degrade when soaked in saltwater have the potential to help address the microplastics ...

The supramolecular dimer was constrained within ... This temporary 'fixing' behaviour is similar to that shown by shape-memory polymers 8, however, in this case the material is not permanently ...

Their study, published in Macromolecules on March 4, 2025, introduces a new method for analyzing the structure of supramolecular polymers—an approach that was previously unattainable and could ...

Artistic rendering of the new plastic. Cross linked salt bridges visible in the plastic outside the seawater give it its ...