What if these materials could be programmed to regenerate-themselves, replenishing the damaged or missing components, and thereby extend their lifetime and reduce the need for costly repairs?
When a chair leg breaks or a cell phone shatters, either must be repaired or replaced. But what if these materials could be programmed to regenerate-themselves, replenishing the damaged or missing components, and thereby extend their lifetime and reduce the need for costly repairs?
That potential is now possible according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, who have developed computational models to design a new polymer gel that would enable complex materials to regenerate themselves. The article, “Harnessing Interfacially-Active Nanorods to Regenerate Severed Polymer Gels” (DOI: 10.1021/nl403855k), was published November 19 in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters.
Principal investigator is Anna C. Balazs, PhD, the Swanson School’s Distinguished Robert v. d. Luft Professor of chemical and petroleum engineering, and co-authors are Xin Yong, PhD, postdoctoral associate, who is the article’s lead author; Olga Kuksenok, PhD, research associate professor; and Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, PhD, J.C. Warner University Professor of Natural Sciences, department of chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University.
“This is one of the holy grails of materials science,” noted Dr. Balazs. “While others have developed materials that can mend small defects, there is no published research regarding systems that can regenerate bulk sections of a severed material. This has a tremendous impact on sustainability because you could potentially extend the lifetime of a material by giving it the ability to regrow when damaged.”
The research team was inspired by biological processes in species such as amphibians, which can regenerate severed limbs. This type of tissue regeneration is guided by three critical instruction sets – initiation, propagation, and termination – which Dr. Balazs describes as a “beautiful dynamic cascade” of biological events.
“When we looked at the biological processes behind tissue regeneration in amphibians, we considered how we would replicate that dynamic cascade within a synthetic material,” Dr. Balazs said. “We needed to develop a system that first would sense the removal of material and initiate regrowth, then propagate that growth until the material reached the desired size and then, self-terminate the process.”
“Our biggest challenge was to address the transport issue within a synthetic material,” Dr. Balazs said. “Biological organisms have circulatory systems to achieve mass transport of materials like blood cells, nutrients and genetic material. Synthetic materials don’t inherently possess such a system, so we needed something that acted like a sensor to initiate and control the process.”
The team developed a hybrid material of nanorods embedded in a polymer gel, which is surrounded by a solution containing monomers and cross-linkers (molecules that link one polymer chain to another) in order to replicate the dynamic cascade. When part of the gel is severed, the nanorods near the cut act as sensors and migrate to the new interface. The functionalized chains or “skirts” on one end of these nanorods keeps them localized at the interface and the sites (or “initiators”) along the rod’s surface trigger a polymerization reaction with the monomer and cross-linkers in the outer solution. Drs. Yong and Kuksenok developed the computational models, and thereby established guidelines to control the process so that the new gel behaves and appears like the gel it replaced, and to terminate the reaction so that the material would not grow out of control.
Drs. Balazs, Kuksenok and Yong also credit Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, who contributed toward the understanding of the chemistry behind the polymerization process. “Our collaboration with Prof. Matyjaszewski was exceptionally valuable in allowing us to accurately account for all the complex chemical reactions involved in the regeneration processes” said Dr. Kuksenok.
“The most beautiful yet challenging part was designing the nanorods to serve multiple roles,” Dr. Yong said. “In effect, they provide the perfect vehicle to trigger a synthetic dynamic cascade.” The nanorods are approximately ten nanometers in thickness, about 10,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.
In the future, the researchers plan to improve the process and strengthen the bonds between the old and newly formed gels, and for this they were inspired by another nature metaphor, the giant sequoia tree. “One sequoia tree will have a shallow root system, but when they grow in numbers, the root systems intertwine to provide support and contribute to their tremendous growth,” Dr. Balazs explains. Similarly, the skirts on the nanorods can provide additional strength to the regenerated material.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Self-healing polymers
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Self-healing polymers” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Self-healing polymers
- Unveiling the Potential of Fluorinated Phenolic Polyurethane Elastomerson April 28, 2024 at 5:00 pm
This innovative material exhibits exceptional puncture energy, tensile strength, and self-healing efficiency ... π−π stacking between aromatic rings and the free volume among polymer chains, this ...
- World-Leading Scientist Delivers Annual Aston University Distinguished Lecture on the Marvels of Smart Gelson April 26, 2024 at 9:44 pm
Dr Raghunath Anant Mashelkar delivered Aston University’s 2024 Annual Distinguished Lecture to more than 70 invited guests on 22 April.One of the world’s renowned figures in polymer science, research ...
- New circuit boards can be repeatedly recycledon April 26, 2024 at 9:19 am
A recent United Nations report found that the world generated 137 billion pounds of electronic waste in 2022, an 82% increase from 2010. Yet less than a quarter of 2022's e-waste was recycled. While ...
- Built-in bionic computing: Researchers develop method to control pneumatic artificial muscleson April 26, 2024 at 9:08 am
Creating robots to safely aid disaster victims is one challenge; executing flexible robot control that takes advantage of the material's softness is another. The use of pliable soft materials to ...
- Self-Healing Materials Market Estimated to Reach US$ 15.57 billion by 2032, Fueled by Infrastructure Surge in Developing Economieson April 26, 2024 at 8:03 am
The self-healing materials industry size estimated at US$ 1.61 billion in 2022 is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 25.5% from 2022 to 2032. Materials that are capable of self-healing are stimulated by ...
- From Mud Bricks to Smart Concrete: A Brief History of Building Materials Technologyon April 26, 2024 at 5:34 am
From mixing lime with water to self-sensing concrete, building materials technology has come a long way—and so have building standards.
- Freeze casting—a guide to creating hierarchically structured materialson April 25, 2024 at 9:20 am
Freeze casting is an elegant, cost-effective manufacturing technique to produce highly porous materials with custom-designed hierarchical architectures, well-defined pore orientation, and ...
- Discover the healing power of shower steamers with The Herbal Zenon April 23, 2024 at 8:18 am
Shower steamers, a growing trend in the realm of self-care and aromatherapy, are making waves for their ability to transform ordinary showers into soothing, aromatic ...
- Polydimethylsiloxane Market: Unveiling Lucrative Opportunities in Medical, Cosmetics, and Self-Healing Compositeson April 18, 2024 at 2:20 am
The global polydimethylsiloxane market is anticipated to create lucrative growth opportunities over the assessment period from 2022 to 2032. The global market held a valuation of US$ 1,533.7 Million ...
- The 15 Best Skincare Products in 2024on April 17, 2024 at 7:39 am
Branded content. Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services. Taking care of your skin is the thing to do. You may have noticed that the ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Self-healing material
[google_news title=”” keyword=”self-healing material” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Self-healing material
- What are self-healing roads that India may introduce to tackle the big pothole problem?on April 29, 2024 at 4:56 am
India has a serious problem of potholes. In 2022, there were 4,446 accidents due to these craters, which led to the deaths of 1,856 people. Now, to tackle this menace, the National Highways Authority ...
- Unveiling the Potential of Fluorinated Phenolic Polyurethane Elastomerson April 28, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Researchers from the Donghua University in China designed a fluorinated phenolic polyurethane (FPPU) elastomer, overcoming the traditional trade-off between mechanical strength and self-healing ...
- Skin Care Newson April 26, 2024 at 5:00 pm
19, 2024 — Toxic chemicals used to flame-proof plastic materials can be absorbed into ... Dollar Global Cost of Poorly Managed Wound Healing Mar. 27, 2024 — Scientists have uncovered a key ...
- Self-Healing Materials Market Estimated to Reach US$ 15.57 billion by 2032, Fueled by Infrastructure Surge in Developing Economieson April 26, 2024 at 8:03 am
The self-healing materials industry size estimated at US$ 1.61 billion in 2022 is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 25.5% from 2022 to 2032. Materials that are capable of self-healing are stimulated by ...
- Alfred University professor co-authors paper on self-healing glasson April 24, 2024 at 10:33 am
Myungkoo Kang, assistant professor of ceramic engineering in Alfred University’s Inamori School of Engineering, has co-authored a paper on ...
- Amplifier emerges from stealth to orchestrate AI-driven ‘self-healing’ security for enterpriseson April 24, 2024 at 6:34 am
self-healing. Essentially, the company is using AI and automation to create an ecosystem where users could self-heal common security issues on their end – without breaking their workflows.
- Scientists develop self-healing material that could transform the plastic industry: 'We could solve many of the world's problems with a single material'on April 21, 2024 at 3:15 am
One expert believes this technology is versatile enough to become a part of a wide range of industries as well, like fashion, robotics, medicine, and vehicle manufacturing. Scientists develop ...
- Researchers Develop Revolutionary Cathode Material for Lithium-Sulfur Batterieson April 19, 2024 at 1:00 pm
Researchers at the University of California - San Diego have developed a self-healing cathode material that overcomes the challenges of traditional sulfur cathodes and could revolutionize solid-state ...
- Crystal Healing 101: A Beginner’s Guide To The Spiritual Practiceon April 19, 2024 at 10:31 am
Using a mala, or a prayer necklace with 108 beads, is a powerful way to use crystals in your meditation, say Panzarella and Randazzo. You can repeat an intention or mantra as you touch each bead or ...
- Polydimethylsiloxane Market: Unveiling Lucrative Opportunities in Medical, Cosmetics, and Self-Healing Compositeson April 18, 2024 at 2:20 am
The global polydimethylsiloxane market is anticipated to create lucrative growth opportunities over the assessment period from 2022 to 2032. The global market held a valuation of US$ 1,533.7 Million ...