'Terminator' Polymer Completely Mends Itself After Being Cut in Two
Researchers from the CIDETEC Centre for Electrochemical Technologies in Spain have developed a permanently cross-linked poly(urea–urethane) elastomeric network that can completely mend itself after being cut in two by a razor blade. It is the metathesis reaction of aromatic disulphides, which naturally exchange at room temperature, that causes regeneration. Scientist Ibon Odriozola says the polymer behaves as if it is alive, always healing itself, and has dubbed it a "terminator" polymer – in honor of the shape-shifting T-1000 terminator robot from the movie Terminator 2. The material acts as a velcro-like sealant or adhesive, displaying a 97% healing efficiency in just two hours, and does not break when stretched manually.