Plastics are exceptional insulators. They can effectively capture heat - a property that can be beneficial in an article like a coffee cup sleeve.
Thermoelectric materials are known to generate electricity by using thermal differences. Now, a low-cost and environmentally friendly method is available for producing these materials with the most basic of components: a photocopy paper, a normal pencil, and a conductive paint can be used to change a temperature difference into electricity through the thermoelectric effect. This breakthrough has now been revealed by researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin.
Researchers report that they have created polymers that can better imitate nature’s color-changing abilities than current polymers.
The mix of hydrogen bonds in cement and polymer composites is vital for making tough, strong and ductile infrastructure materials.
Integrating two different polymer forms can switch manufacturing of silicone parts to 3D printing and improve biological cell adhesion.
Polymers based on chains of boron are thought to have beneficial properties, e.g.greater electrical conductance than polymers used in organic electronics.
Polymer particles have been chemically imprinted with DNA strands by McGill University researchers – a technique capable of leading to new materials for applications ranging from biomedicine to “soft robotics” (a promising field).
There are numerous technologies with potential under development that can decrease energy consumption or capture carbon in fields including biotech, nanotechnology, materials science, computer science, and more. Not all will prove viable, but with some funding and nurturing, many could help solve Earth’s grand challenge.
A team of researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst have discovered the first steps toward attaining control over the self-assembly of artificial materials in the same way that biology develops natural polymers.
Polymers are highly valued by industry and progressively used as substitutes for metals in the manufacture of automobile parts, firearms, and others. Such parts are marked with serial numbers, for traceability and security purposes.
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