Say goodbye to smashed phone screens! Scientists develop a new material that is as light as plastic but stronger than STEEL — and is up to six times more difficult to damage than bulletproof glass
The material was made by Massachussets Institute of Technology-led experts
It is formed from layers of tiny molecular discs that stack in order to form sheets
Each layer is held together by hydrogen bonds, making it strong and lightweight
It was long thought impossible to produce a two-dimensional polymers like this
But special joins between each disk prevent them from twisting out-of-plane
Alongside protective coatings, the material could be used in construction
A material that is as light as plastic yet stronger than steel and 4–6 times harder to damage than bulletproof glass could soon be used to protect smartphone screens.
The substance created by experts from Massachussets Institute of Technology achieves something long thought impossible — polymerisation in two dimensions.
Polymerisation is a process by which small atoms called monomers are joined together, usually to form long, spaghetti-like chains called polymers.
These can then be shaped into three-dimensional objects such as water bottles, by means of injection moulding.
The researchers, however, have succeeded in creating a material that self-assembles instead into two-dimensional sheets that are more like lasagne than spaghetti.
These sheets, dubbed polyaramides, stack on top of each and are held together by robust hydrogen bonds, making the overall material extremely sturdy.
Alongside enhancing phone casings, the polymer could also be used as a protective coating on car parts, or as a large-scale construction material.
‘We don’t usually think of plastics as being something that you could use to support a building, but with this material, you can enable new things,’ said Professor Michael Strano, who led the study.
‘It has very unusual properties and we’re very excited about that.’
It’s long been thought that polymers formed of two-dimensional sheets could be used to make extremely lightweight materials.
However, decades of investigation led to the conclusion that this was impossible, in part because of how it only takes one monomer to twist out of the sheet’s growing plane for the whole thing to lose its desired form.
To overcome this issue, the researchers used a compound called melamine, which is composed of rings of carbon and nitrogen, and is commonly used to make plastic tableware.
The team found that, under the right conditions, the monomers in melamine can be used to grow tiny two-dimensional disks which stack on top of each other, with each layer held together by hydrogen bonds, making it extremely strong and stable.
‘Instead of making a spaghetti-like molecule, we can make a sheet-like molecular plane, where we get molecules to hook themselves together in two dimensions,’ said Professor Strano.
Source: daily mail
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Say goodbye to smashed phone screens! Scientists develop a new material that is as light as plastic but stronger than STEEL — and is up to six times more difficult to damage than bulletproof glass