Filthy CDs and the big picture

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Zinc oxide is an inexpensive semiconductor material that can act as a photocatalyst in the presence of ultraviolet light to break down organic molecules such as those present in sewage. While some research has already been done on the possibilities of using this process commercially, Din Ping Tsai, of the National Taiwan University, and his colleagues at the National Applied Research Laboratories and the Research Center for Applied Sciences, both also in Taiwan, are the first to realise the potential of growing nanorods of the material on a CD.