A small data storage device designed in South Korea doesn't self-destruct after being used (sorry, Ethan Hunt). However, it will dissolve within 72 hours of being placed in a cup of room-temperature water.
And the quick disintegration could be a solution to a seemingly impossible mission: sustainably dealing with the growing amount of electronic waste piling up around the planet. The innovation was detailed in a study published by Angewandte Chemie International Edition and AZo Materials.
"This achievement is technologically significant as it marks the first example of integrating physical self-destruction into a high-performance organic memory device," study lead Sangho Cho, from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, said in AZo.
At issue are the toxic metals and other elements in all of the gadgets we use. They cause harm to humans and the environment when they are improperly discarded, burned, or broken down in an acid bath, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Worse yet, the United Nations reported that more than 68 million tons of e-waste were generated in 2022, an 82% increase from 2010.
The KIST innovation is a cleaner solution, specifically suited for wearable tech and medical devices. Fascinatingly, the invention is biocompatible and can be implanted in the body. Once a protective coating wears away, the rest of it dissolves, leaving no trace, within three days. The thicker the outer layer, the longer the protection, all to AZo's report.
The concept isn't entirely novel. London's Jiva Materials developed a circuit board that can be quickly dissolved in hot water, for example.
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KIST's team addressed performance and data storage issues that plagued other similar inventions. It's all made possible by a unique molecular structure — a biodegradable polymer and an organic molecule the team dubbed TEMPO, which can store electrical information. The unit was able to save data for more than 10,000 seconds and could be turned on and off, the report continued.
"Despite being bent over 3,000 times and subjected to over 250 write-erase cycles, the device exhibited no deterioration, demonstrating an extraordinary blend of performance and endurance," according to AZo.
It's part of the amazing innovations in development, including a battery developed by New York's Binghamton University, made partly from paper and bacteria. It would be a little more familiar to spies since it self-destructs after use.
The ability to dissolve while inside bodies makes KIST's project unusual. It could reduce the need for surgeries to implant medical technology. The team also expects military applications to follow, per the summary.
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