Acetone Dissolves Styrofoam Into Goo

Have you ever seen a foam cup appear to melt away in acetone?

May 24, 2016

Have you ever seen a foam cup appear to melt away in acetone? Foam cups, bowls and containers are made of a lightweight but strong material – expanded polystyrene. How then does acetone reduce this substance to a blob of goo? In this week’s video, we team up with chemistry professor Matt Hartings, Ph.D., to explain this weird phenomenon.

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