2026-06-18 バッファロー大学（UB）
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2026/06/thermal-barcode-plastic-recycling.html
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s44172-026-00703-7
廃プラスチック識別のための3次元一時的熱バーコード Three-dimensional transient thermal barcode for waste plastic identification
Kunal Singh,Thomas Thundat & Amit Goyal
Communications Engineering Published:06 June 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s44172-026-00703-7 Unedited version
Abstract
Low global recycling rates of plastics are constrained by the lack of rapid, accurate, and scalable technologies for waste sorting. Here we report a standoff Transient Thermal Barcode (TTB) technique that identifies plastics using their mid-infrared (IR) absorption-induced thermal signatures. When the IR irradiation wavenumber matches a polymer absorption band in the molecular fingerprint regime, the non-radiative decay produces localized heating, yielding a transient hotspot that can be recorded with a thermal camera. Scanning with a tunable mid-IR source produces thermal spectra that closely track conventional FTIR spectrum. We show that a set of six mid-IR wavelengths can generate distinct thermal barcodes that enable the unique identification of all six major commercially relevant plastic classes in waste plastics. These results show the potential of mid-IR based non-contact plastic identification according to their resin codes for automated sorting in recycling.
