Scientists from Washington have created a fundamentally new electronic board that can be recycled many times without losing quality. This discovery will be the key to solving the problem of electronic waste that litters the planet every year. Ferra.ru reports this with reference to Tech Xplore.

All electronics are based on electronic circuit boards. Typically, they consist of compressed layers of fiberglass and plastic impregnated with harmful chemicals. These boards are difficult to disassemble, and recycling them is often inefficient and polluting.

American researchers proposed using vitrimer, a special type of polymer, for circuit boards. The uniqueness of vitrimer lies in the fact that its molecules, under the influence of certain conditions, are able to rearrange themselves without losing strength.

Thanks to this property, vitrimer boards (vPCBs) can be recycled many times. The used board is placed in a special solvent that softens the plastic without damaging the fiberglass and electronic components. The recovered components and polymer are then reused to create new circuit boards.

Tests have proven that vPCBs are not inferior to traditional boards in terms of their characteristics, such as strength and electrical conductivity. Moreover, their recycling reduces the negative impact on the environment by almost half.

To implement vPCB, it is necessary to establish an effective e-waste collection system. However, this technology is already a big step towards a more environmentally friendly electronics of the future.