Researchers from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Kyoto Institute of Technology, and Kyoto University have developed a new functional material that enables low-temperature molding of common plastics using pressure instead of heat. The findings have been published online in ACS Macro Letters.
By adding a baroplastic—a polymer that softens under pressure—to the widely used biodegradable plastic poly(L-lactide) (PLLA), the team succeeded in reducing its molding temperature from about 160 °C to 60 °C. This approach allows efficient molding without thermal degradation, achieving both energy savings and material recyclability.
The study also introduces a new concept called “baroplasticization,” in which baroplastics act as “baroplasticizers,” imparting pressure-induced flowability to polymers that normally do not soften under pressure. This concept provides a general design principle for enabling pressure-based processing in a wide range of polymers.
These findings open a path toward energy-efficient, low-carbon, and recyclable plastics manufacturing, improving recyclability and contributing to the mitigation of plastic pollution.
This research is part of “Deep-Sea-Inspired Chemistry,” an emerging field that draws inspiration from the extreme conditions of the deep sea. Technologies inspired by the high-pressure and high-temperature gradients of hydrothermal vents have already been commercialized in manufacturing equipment and the food industry, and are now being developed for advanced materials and cosmetics. This line of research has earned the Inoue Harushige Prize and the SPSJ Mitsubishi Chemical Award 2025. This latest study demonstrates for the first time that the “pressure” principle, characteristic of the deep-sea environment, can directly contribute to sustainable materials innovation.
This research was supported by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) under the CREST program “Precise Material Science for Degradation and Stability” (Research Supervisor: Atsushi Takahara, Kyushu University), through the project “Baropolyesters: Precision Degradation Control by Pressure” (Research Director: Shigeru Deguchi, Project No. JPMJCR21L4).
For more information:
https://www.kit.ac.jp (in Japanese)