Light-controlled polymers can switch between sturdy and soft
MIT researchers have designed a polymer material that can change its structure in response to light, converting from a rigid substance to a softer one that can heal itself when damaged.
MIT researchers have designed a polymer material that can change its structure in response to light, converting from a rigid substance to a softer one that can heal itself when damaged.
Polymers
Jul 18, 2018
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150
Many natural organisms have the ability to repair themselves. Now, manufactured machines will be able to mimic this property. In findings published this week in Nature Materials, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University ...
Materials Science
May 21, 2018
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325
Self-healing smart coatings could someday make scratches on cell phones a thing of the past. But researchers often have to compromise between strength and the ability to self-repair when developing these materials. Now, one ...
Bio & Medicine
Jan 31, 2018
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44
Porous particles of calcium and silicate show potential as building blocks for a host of applications like self-healing materials, bone-tissue engineering, drug delivery, insulation, ceramics and construction materials, according ...
Materials Science
Dec 18, 2017
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126
Scientists at EPFL's Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites (LPAC) and the University of Freiburg's Botanical Garden have studied how the flax plant heals itself after it has been wounded. As part of a cross-disciplinary ...
Materials Science
Oct 12, 2017
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246
(Phys.org)—Currently one of the most efficient ways to store solar energy is to transfer the energy to catalysts that split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Then the hydrogen can either be used as a fuel or later recombined ...
Self-healing materials are able to repair autonomously defects, such as scratches, cracks or dents, and resume their original shape. For this purpose, they must be composed of several components whose combined properties ...
Materials Science
Sep 14, 2017
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3
Imagine a tire that could heal after being punctured or a rubber band that never snapped.
Materials Science
Aug 15, 2017
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28
While doing research at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts, Sindy Tang learned of a remarkable organism: Stentor coeruleus. It's a single-celled, free-living freshwater organism, shaped like a trumpet ...
Engineering
Jun 26, 2017
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361
Taking a cue from the Marvel Universe, researchers report that they have developed a self-healing polymeric material with an eye toward electronics and soft robotics that can repair themselves. The material is stretchable ...
Materials Science
Apr 4, 2017
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191