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Polymers news
New self-assembling protein hydrogels may hold many applications for biomedicine
Delivering medications safely and accurately is of great interest to researchers and, of course, to people who need them. So is restoring function to damaged body parts. Jin K. Montclare, an associate professor of chemical ...
Engineers turn plastic insulator into heat conductor
Plastics are excellent insulators, meaning they can efficiently trap heat - a quality that can be an advantage in something like a coffee cup sleeve. But this insulating property is less desirable in products such as plastic ...
Polymers that mimic chameleon skin
Biological tissues have complex mechanical properties – soft-yet-strong, tough-yet-flexible – that are difficult to reproduce using synthetic materials. An international team has managed to produce a biocompatible synthetic ...
Making rusty polymers for energy storage
It's called a nanoflower, but if you could brush your cheek against its microscopic petals, you would find them cool, hard and … rusty.
Researchers demonstrate highest reported conductivity for organic radical polymer
Researchers discover a way to control the colour of OLEDs
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are used in smartphones and televisions to facilitate the high-contrast display of colours. Conjugated polymers are also often employed as organic semiconductors in such diodes. Researchers ...
Custom sequences for polymers using visible light
Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University used a light-sensitive iridium-palladium catalyst to make "sequential" polymers, using visible light to change how building blocks are combined into polymer chains. By simply ...
Novel adhesive and thermally stable epoxy resins
Epoxy resins or epoxies are organic compounds that can be hardened into adhesive materials with excellent thermal stability, mechanical strength, and chemical resistance. The hardening or 'curing' results from cross-linking ...
'Candy cane' polymer weave could power future functional fabrics and devices
If scientists are ever going to deliver on the promise of implantable artificial organs or clothing that dries itself, they'll first need to solve the problem of inflexible batteries that run out of juice too quickly. They're ...
The degradation status of modern polymeric museum artifacts can be classified by their smell
Breath analysis in disease diagnostics is a promising research field, and the advances in instrumentation allows the accurate detection of metabolites. But not only the health status of patients, but also the preservation ...
Scientists create multifunctional protein-polymer films
A team from MSU, with international and Russian colleagues, has found that mixing dendrimers (tree-like polymers) and proteins induces spontaneous multilayer films. They are easily formed and retain the activity and function ...
'Random walk' of heat carriers in amorphous polymers
The intrinsic structure of amorphous polymers is highly disordered with long, entangled molecular chains. They are usually considered as thermal insulators due to their ultra-low thermal conductivity. One effective way to ...
Scientists simplify process to make polymers with light-triggered nanoparticles
Rice University scientists plan to employ the power of the sun to build functional synthetic polymers using photosensitive quantum dots—microscopic semiconducting particles—as a catalyst.
Printable, colorful camouflage with polymers
In nature, colors can serve as a form of communication, but they can also hide animals and plants, camouflaging them from sight. Researchers now report in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces that they have developed polymers ...
Material gradients could strengthen polymer components
Combining flexible and stiff materials has bestowed bamboo with a strength-to-weight ratio that rivals steel. Gradually transitioning from a soft to hard substance allows the squishy squid to slice up prey with rigid, scissor-like ...
Porous polymer films with shape memory
Whether for separation processes, photovoltaics, catalysis, or electronics, porous polymer membranes are needed in many fields. Membranes with micropores that switch between different shapes and/or sizes would expand the ...
Collective disentanglement of entangled polymers
LMU researchers have disproven the conventional theory used to explain the dynamics of polymer solutions. They show that for biopolymers collective effects facilitate chain mobility, which is reminiscent of the behavior of ...
Macromolecular order in plastic kingdom
A team of researchers at the Institute of Synthetic Polymer Materials of the Russian Academy of Sciences, MIPT and elsewhere has determined how the regularity of polypropylene molecules and thermal treatment affect the mechanical ...
New molecular muscle responds to visible light
Picture a tiny, makeshift muscle that can curl a 20 milligram suspended weight when exposed to light. Under the right conditions, another mix packs enough power to bench-press a dime.
A new polymer raises the bar for lithium-sulfur batteries
Lithium-sulfur batteries are promising candidates for replacing common lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles since they are cheaper, weigh less, and can store nearly double the energy for the same mass. However, lithium-sulfur ...
Using DNA strands to design new polymer materials
McGill University researchers have chemically imprinted polymer particles with DNA strands - a technique that could lead to new materials for applications ranging from biomedicine to the promising field of "soft robotics."
A type of semi-transparent polymer that can be mended at room temperature using small pressure
A new theory to describe conjugated polymer-polyelectrolyte blends
LiU researcher Klas Tybrandt has developed a theoretical model that explains the coupling between ions and electrons in the widely used conducting polymer PEDOT:PSS. The model could have applications in printed electronics, ...
DNA as a supramolecular building block
PhD student Willem Noteborn has investigated supramolecular structures. These can be useful for the loading of medicines and signalling molecules regarding, for example, cellular differentiation. In his thesis, he describes ...
A polymer 'love hormone' sensor for the early detection of autism
Is it possible to detect features of autism at birth? At the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, researchers have developed a sensor could make such detection a reality. The main recognition ...
Using polymeric membranes to clean up industrial separations
There are scores of promising technologies under development that can reduce energy consumption or capture carbon in fields including biotech, computer science, nanotechnology, materials science, and more. Not all will prove ...
Coloring the heartbeat
In the 17th Century two giants of science, Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke, were both trying to understand how the wings of butterflies and peacocks, which are made of the same material as our fingernails and hair, could colors ...
Electrostatic force takes charge in bioinspired polymers
Researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst have taken the first steps toward gaining control over the self-assembly of synthetic materials in the same way that biology forms natural ...
Technique gives detailed view into how certain polymers form, unlocking answers about nucleation
Imagine a tiny drop. It contains water, the fizzy antiseptic hydrogen peroxide, and a common, yellowish chemical called glyoxal. When the droplet is exposed to light, a cascade of reactions occurs, producing new materials. ...
Exploiting reversible solubility allows for direct, optical patterning of unprecedentedly small features.
To build better solar cells, scientists need to design materials from the bottom up, placing chains of molecules just where they are needed. Scientists devised a new way to grow neatly arranged, densely packed bundles of ...
Strengthening passive sampling of nonpolar chemicals
Passive sampling is a valuable technique for monitoring concentration levels of hydrophobic persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the marine environment. New guidelines for the determination of partition coefficients between ...
Close up view of growing polymer chain show jump steps
(Phys.org)—A team of researchers at Cornell University has devised a means for watching as a polymer chain grows after application of a catalyst. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team explains how they ...
Physicists use mathematical algorithms to examine experimental 3-D structures of chromosomes
Everyone knows that long bits of yarn, or charging cables and the like, tend to get quickly tangled and form nasty knots. Little is known about the structures of our genetic material, chromosomes, which also consist of long ...
Polymers that kill germs rapidly and effectively will help in the fight against multidrug-resistant microbes
Inexpensive antimicrobial polymers that are gentle on the skin and highly effective in killing microbes have been developed by A*STAR researchers1. They have promise for use in surgical scrubs and disinfectants.
Improving gene delivery methods
Scientists in China are exploring new ways to treat cancer using gene therapy. We find out how their work inspired this beautiful and intricate design on the cover of Polymer Chemistry.
World first for reading digitally encoded synthetic molecules
Using mass spectrometry, researchers have for the first time read several bytes of data recorded on a molecular scale using synthetic polymers. Their work sets a new benchmark for the amount of data stored as a sequence of ...
A new way to test body armor
Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new way to investigate the high-performance fibers used in modern body armor. Described in the Journal of Polymer Science, the research ...
Resolving tension on the surface of polymer mixes
Better than playing with Legos, throwing polymer chains of different lengths into a mix can yield surprising results. In a new study published in EPJ E, physicists focus on how a mixture of chemically identical chains into ...
Researchers show materials strengthen on their own when impacted at very high speed
Army and MIT researchers advanced a unique experimental device to better test the durability of high performance and robust polymeric materials that appear to strengthen themselves under attack by rapid impact.
NIST finds a way to measure fuel cell 'printing' at a fast clip
If you're wondering when a hydrogen-powered car will become a viable option for you, take heart. A team including scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may have overcome a significant hurdle ...
Electrically heated textiles now possible
Commuters, skiers, crossing guards and others who endure frozen fingers in cold weather may look forward to future relief as manufacturers are poised to take advantage of a new technique for creating electrically heated cloth ...
Precisely defined polymer chains now a reality
Manufactured polymers are ubiquitous in the market. These large molecules are used for synthetic clothing, rubbers and glues, and anything made of plastic. However, the material properties exhibited by man-made polymers rely ...
Recent Russian Arctic glacier loss doubles from the previous 60 years
Geophysicists examining glacier changes in the Russian Arctic have found that the rate of ice mass loss has nearly doubled over the last decade when compared to records from the previous 60 years, according to Cornell-led ...
Balancing nuclear and renewable energy
Nuclear power plants typically run either at full capacity or not at all. Yet the plants have the technical ability to adjust to the changing demand for power and thus better accommodate sources of renewable energy such as ...
Researchers study how early humans thrived through volcanic winter
UTA researcher Naomi Cleghorn has participated in a Nature paper that describes how humans thrived in South Africa through the Toba volcanic eruption about 74,000 years ago, which created a decades-long volcanic winter.
Projectile cannon experiments show how asteroids can deliver water
Experiments using a high-powered projectile cannon show how impacts by water-rich asteroids can deliver surprising amounts of water to planetary bodies. The research, by scientists from Brown University, could shed light ...
Astronomers witness galaxy megamerger
Peering deep into space—an astounding 90 percent of the way across the observable universe—astronomers have witnessed the beginnings of a gargantuan cosmic pileup, the impending collision of 14 young, starbursting galaxies.
Researchers 3-D print electronics and cells directly on skin
In a groundbreaking new study, researchers at the University of Minnesota used a customized, low-cost 3D printer to print electronics on a real hand for the first time. The technology could be used by soldiers on the battlefield ...
Massive study across western equatorial Africa finds more gorillas and chimpanzees than expected
A massive decade-long study of Western Equatorial Africa's gorillas and chimpanzees has uncovered both good news and bad about our nearest relatives. The good news: there are one third more western lowland gorillas and one ...
Ultrahigh-pressure laser experiments shed light on super-Earth cores
Using high-powered laser beams, researchers have simulated conditions inside a planet three times as large as Earth.
Invisible magnetic sensors measure magnetic fields without disturbing them
Currently, most of the magnetic sensors used in today's computers, airplanes, cars, and other systems distort the magnetic fields that they are measuring. These distortions can cause major problems for some applications, ...
Long-sought structure of telomerase paves way for new drugs for aging, cancer
More than 30 years ago, when University of California, Berkeley researchers discovered telomerase—an enzyme that lengthens chromosome ends and prevents them from fraying enough to kill a cell—speculation ran wild about ...
Breaking bottlenecks to the electronic-photonic information technology revolution
Researchers at the University of Washington, working with researchers from the ETH-Zurich, Purdue University and Virginia Commonwealth University, have achieved an optical communications breakthrough that could revolutionize ...
Gaia creates richest star map of our Galaxy—and beyond
ESA's Gaia mission has produced the richest star catalogue to date, including high-precision measurements of nearly 1.7 billion stars and revealing previously unseen details of our home Galaxy.
Magma ocean may be responsible for the moon's early magnetic field
Around four billion years ago, the Moon had a magnetic field that was about as strong as Earth's magnetic field is today. How the Moon, with a much smaller core than Earth's, could have had such a strong magnetic field has ...
Entanglement observed in near-macroscopic objects
Perhaps the strangest prediction of quantum theory is entanglement, a phenomenon whereby two distant objects become intertwined in a manner that defies both classical physics and a common-sense understanding of reality. In ...
Many low-lying atoll islands could be uninhabitable by mid-21st century
Sea-level rise and wave-driven flooding will negatively impact freshwater resources on many low-lying atoll islands in such a way that many could be uninhabitable in just a few decades. According to a new study published ...
Powerful flare detected on an M-dwarf star
An international team of astronomers reports the finding of ASASSN-18di—a powerful white-light superflare on a previously undetected, mid-type M-dwarf star. The discovery is detailed in a paper published April 12 on the ...
Parasite eggs from ancient latrines hint at people's past diets
DNA in parasite eggs recovered from ancient latrines provides new clues to the foods eaten by past populations, as well as their animal domestication and hunting practices, according to a study published April 25, 2018 in ...
Weather associated with sentiments expressed on social media
Sentiments expressed on Facebook and Twitter may be associated with certain weather patterns, according to a study published April 25, 2018 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Patrick Baylis from the Vancouver School of ...
Ants found to use trapping technique to capture much larger prey
Two researchers, one with Biofaction in Austria, the other with Université de Toulouse in France, report an example of ants (Azteca brevis) in Costa Rica who have developed a truly unique way of capturing prey that are much ...
Researchers identify promising delivery method for immunotherapy combination
Using nanoparticles to bind molecules that can unleash and stimulate immune cells, University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers found they could more effectively trigger the body's defenses ...
Next step towards quantum network based on micromechanical beams
In recent years, nanofabricated mechanical oscillators have emerged as a promising platform for quantum information applications. Quantum entanglement of engineered optomechanical resonators would offer a compelling route ...
Researchers redefine the origin of the cellular powerhouse
In a new study published by Nature, an international team of researchers led by Uppsala University in Sweden proposes a new evolutionary origin for mitochondria—also known as the "powerhouse of the cell." Mitochondria are ...
Team shows tiny frequency combs are reliable measurement tools
In an advance that could shrink many measurement technologies, scientists at the National Institute ofStandards and Technology (NIST) and partners have demonstrated the first miniaturized devices thatcan generate desired ...
Nuclear radiation detecting device could lead to new homeland security tool
A Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory research team has developed an exceptional next-generation material for nuclear radiation detection that could provide a significantly less expensive alternative to ...
The Matryoshka effect: Researchers describe underwater phenomenon
Researchers at Utah State University are sending cascades of water into a tank to uncover a mystery of fluid dynamics.
Team aims to use new NASA telescope to capture light from the first stars to be born in the universe
About 200 to 400 million years after the Big Bang created the universe, the first stars began to appear. Ordinarily stars lying at such a great distance in space and time would be out of reach even for NASA's new James Webb ...
How the building blocks of life may form in space
In a laboratory experiment that mimics astrophysical conditions, with cryogenic temperatures in an ultrahigh vacuum, scientists used an electron gun to irradiate thin sheets of ice covered in basic molecules of methane, ammonia ...
Researchers create precision optical components with inkjet printing
Researchers have developed an inkjet printing technique that can be used to print optical components such as waveguides. Because the printing approach can also fabricate electronics and microfluidics, it could advance a variety ...
Engineers get a grip on slippery surfactants
A Rice University group's innovative surfactant theory removes limitations of a 100-year-old model for interfacial behavior in enhanced oil recovery.
Using a quantum blockchain to protect blockchains of the future
A pair of researchers with Victoria University of Wellington has suggested that the way to prevent future blockchains from future hackers using quantum computers is to use quantum blockchains. Theoretical physicists Del Rajan ...
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