Greener Nylon: One-pot recipe could eliminate industrial leftovers

Each year, polymer makers around the world produce roughly 4 billion kilograms of nylon-6, a type of nylon used to make items ranging from clothing to carpets to car parts. Now, researchers have devised a one-step process for making the primary ingredient of nylon-6, a simplification that could eliminate an abundant by-product of the industry’s current two-step process.