Polymer power drives tiny reactions

Squeezing plastic ingredient in water creates enough energy to fuel chemical work

In the quest to wring energy from every source imaginable, scientists are putting the squeeze on a common plastic ingredient. Applying force to polymers in water generates enough energy to drive chemical reactions, a team reports online March 1 in Angewandte Chemie.

SQUISH SPLASH, A NEW ENERGY PATH Energy generated by walking in this sneaker — whose polymer sole was injected with water and a fluorescing compound — created enough free radicals to spur the reaction that made the compound glow.