Introduction The dominance of China in the rare earths industry has forced the USA, Russia, European Union, Japan, Australia, and other countries to formulate policies and implement strategies to ensure the security and sustainability of rare earth elements (REE) to reduce dependency on Chinese supplies. Notably, in 2020 the European Union’s report on critical raw […]
Single use paper cups are a common part of our day to day lives, with an estimated 1 billion being used in Australia every year[1]. They may look recyclable, as they are made of paper, but many are lined with plastic to keep the cup from going soggy (Fig. 1). The plastic lining prevents them […]
What is FTIR? FTIR stands for Fourier Transform InfraRed. It is a commonly used spectroscopic technique for molecular analysis. The technique works by infrared light being either absorbed or transmitted by the molecular bonds in a sample (Colthup et al., 2012). This process produces a spectrum with signals that are characteristic of the bond vibrational […]
