Shine without the mine: Researchers create photoluminescent lignin

A team of researchers from UK’s Nottingham Trent University and Yale University’s Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering have demonstrated a more sustainable alternative to photoluminescent solid-state materials used in display technologies, lighting, sensors, security inks, and biomedical imaging.

Combining lignin and histidine, the team was able to create materials that

absorb ultraviolet light and re-emit it as visible light.  “The key here is that we are not using any precious or toxic metals,” said study co-author Dr. Darren Lee, a researcher in sustainable chemistry in Nottingham Trent University’s School of Science and Technology. “Traditionally, virgin metals would be mined from the ground and are finite in quantity. By switching to a material that can be produced naturally from abundant biomass waste it opens up a process that is more circular and sustainable.”

The findings were published recently in the peer-review journal, Chem.