Plastic recycling: Peptide with a cobalt complex oxidizes polystyrene microparticles

Polystyrene is a widespread plastic that is essentially not recyclable when mixed with other materials and is not biodegradable. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a German research team has introduced a biohybrid catalyst that oxidizes polystyrene microparticles to facilitate their subsequent degradation. The catalyst consists of a specially constructed "anchor peptide" that adheres to polystyrene surfaces and a cobalt complex that oxidizes polystyrene.