Dr Erin Leitao. Photo: Supplied / Chris Loufte
The repaired silicone with sulphur. Photo: Supplied / Erin Leitao
Silicones are used for everything, from bakeware, to life-saving medical equipment, to the prosthetics in the film industry.
The global silicone market was valued at more than 32 billion dollars in 2022 and it continues to grow.
But silicone is extremely hard to recycle and most used silicone goes to landfill.
Our next guest Dr Erin Leitao, associate professor of chemical sciences at Auckland University, has created a silicone that can be remoulded and reused by adding in sulphur.
