Sustainable hairy cellulose nanocrystals selectively salvage rare earth elements such as neodymium from electronic waste

https://www.psu.edu/news/engineering/story/salvaging-rare-earth-elements-electronic-waste/

"researchers negatively charged the hairy layers of the nanoparticles in order to attract and bind with the positively charged neodymium ions, resulting in particle aggregation into larger pieces that can then be effectively recycled and reused... Using cellulose as the main agent is a sustainable, cost-effective, clean solution"