Scientists create paper that can be erased and reprinted up to 80 times

Record ID: 903182

  • Title: Scientists create paper that can be erased and reprinted up to 80 times
  • Date: 18th July 2017
  • Summary: RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JULY 14, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF REPRINTABLE PAPER, SHOWING QUOTE FROM SCIENTIST RICHARD P FEYNMAN VARIOUS OF CHEMISTRY STUDENT PICKING UP PAPER, TEMPLATE AND GLASS FROM DISH STUDENT HOLDING UP TEXT AND PAPER AND CLIPPING THEM TOGETHER CHEMICALS USED TO COAT PAPER CHEMISTRY STUDENT CLIPPING ELEMENTS TOGETHER VARIOUS OF CHEMISTRY STUDENT PUTTING PAPER UNDER ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT VARIOUS OF PAPER SITTING BENEATH LIGHT STUDENT CHECKING PAPER, WEARING PROTECTIVE FACE MASK TO SHIELD EYES FROM ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT LIGHT GOING OFF VARIOUS OF PRINTED PAPER BEING REMOVED FROM LIGHT CLOSE UP OF PRINTED PAPER (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHEMISTRY STUDENT RASHED AL EISA (pronounced RA-shid Al-EE-sa,) WHO WORKED ON REPRINTABLE PAPER, SAYING: "So what we do is we take these nanoparticles and we mix it with some sort of dye that has a color, and we put it on top of any material - we can put it on top of paper, glass, plastic - and then we can use some sort of mask with the writings we want, and when we shine a light on top of it, then after a couple of minutes, then we can see that the writings remain on this material. And if we want to erase it, we can just leave it for five days, or we can accelerate this erasing using heat. And we showed that this writing process can be done for more than 80 times with a good resolution. VARIOUS OF FLORAL PATTERN BEING PRINTED ON PAPER (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHEMISTRY STUDENT RASHED AL EISA, WHO WORKED ON REPRINTABLE PAPER, SAYING: "A nanoparticle is a particle that is smaller than, let's say 100,000 times thinner than a paper sheet. And so this material then can absorb the light and after that, it can initiate some kind of reactions that can change the color of some sort of dye that we use. So, when we mix this material with the dye, then we can control the color and we can write using just the UV light, ultraviolet."
  • Embargoed: 1st August 2017 22:34
  • Keywords: reprintable paper paper University of California Riverside chemistry nanoparticles
  • Location: RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA AND NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES/LA COURNEUVE, FRANCE/MANAMA, BAHRAIN
  • City: RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA AND NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES/LA COURNEUVE, FRANCE/MANAMA, BAHRAIN
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Science
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016Q8T9AZ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Scientists in California have created rewritable paper, printed using light instead of ink, that can be erased and reused up to 80 times.
    In the United States alone, about 70 million tons (63.5 million metric tonnes) of paper and paperboard are used each year, with more than 350 million magazines and 24 billion newspapers published, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
    The chemists at the University of California, Riverside, hope the new technology can help cut down on the amount of paper we use, and address issues of resource sustainability.
    At the heart of the new technology are nanoparticles, materials thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair.
    The nanoparticles are mixed with commercial redox dyes, which have color-changing properties, and applied to the paper. When a clear plastic sheet printed with text is placed on top of the paper and the two layers put under an ultraviolet (UV) light, the light bleaches the dye, leaving the portions that constitute the text on the paper.
    "This material then can absorb the light and after that, it can initiate some kind of reactions that can change the color of some sort of dye that we use. So when we mix this material with the dye, then we can control the color and we can write using just the UV light," said PhD student Rashed Al Eisa (pronounced RA-shid Al-EE-sa). Al Eisa worked on the rewritable paper with Yadong Yin, the chemistry professor whose lab led the research.
    The text fades in five days, as oxygen in the air takes electrons from the dye nanoparticles and turns them back to their original color. The process can be accelerated by heating the paper to 120 degrees Celsius or 250 degrees Fahrenheit, making it reusable in a matter of minutes.
    "We showed that this writing process can be done for more than 80 times with a good resolution," Al Eisa said.
    The process can also be used to print text or graphics onto plastic or glass, or a range of other surfaces. But the main use, the scientists think, could be for printed materials that are only used for a short time, like newspapers, leaflets or advertising posters.
    The USC Riverside research group collaborated with scientists at Shandong University in China.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register