Scientists in South Korea have created a new way to turn plastic waste into clean hydrogen fuel using just sunlight and water.
This exciting technology, developed by researchers at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) and Seoul National University, could help solve two big problems at once: plastic pollution and the need for clean energy.
The system, described in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, uses a special material that floats on water and stays active even in tough outdoor conditions.
This material is a type of photocatalyst, which means it helps trigger chemical reactions using light.
What makes it special is that it’s wrapped in a hydrogel—a water-filled polymer—that helps it float and work better in real-life environments.
Hydrogen is being explored as a future clean energy source, but most of it is currently made using fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases.
Using sunlight to produce hydrogen is much cleaner, but it’s often unstable and hard to scale up. The Korean research team found a way around these issues.
They designed their system so that the reaction happens right at the surface between air and water.
This clever setup avoids problems that usually happen in water-based reactions, like the loss of catalyst or unwanted reverse reactions.
When the system is placed in a solution of broken-down plastic bottles—such as PET bottles—it produces clean hydrogen gas.
At the same time, the plastic is broken into useful materials like ethylene glycol, which is used in antifreeze, and terephthalic acid, a raw material for making new plastic.
To see if the idea would work outside the lab, the team built a one-square-meter reactor and tested it under real sunlight. The system worked well, producing hydrogen steadily throughout the day as sunlight increased.
Even in strong alkaline water and various types of natural water, including seawater, the catalyst remained stable for more than two months.
The researchers also ran simulations and showed that this technology could be expanded to cover areas of 10 or even 100 square meters. That means it could one day be used on a larger scale to produce hydrogen in a way that’s both eco-friendly and affordable.
“This technology shows how plastic waste can become something valuable,” said Professor Kim Dae-Hyeong, one of the lead researchers. “It’s a big step forward in solving environmental problems while creating clean energy.”
His colleague, Professor Hyeon Taeghwan, added, “What’s special is that this system works outside the lab. It’s a real-world solution that brings us closer to a hydrogen-powered, carbon-free future.”
