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New Polymer Family: 3D-Printable, Recyclable, and Self-Healing

Researchers from Texas A&M University  and the Army Research Laboratory have created a new family of 3D printable synthetic materials whose stiffness spans a 1,000-fold range. Their properties can be fine-tuned to either the strength of load-bearing plastics or to the softness of rubber. The materials can self-heal within seconds, have shape memory, and are recyclable. These characteristics, "make them suited for not just more realistic prosthetics and soft robotics, but also ideal for broad military applications such as agile platforms for air vehicles and futuristic self-healing aircraft wings," says Dr. Svetlana Sukhishvili of Texas A&M. The secret behind the polymers’ self-healing and morphing abilities is chemistry.

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Aerospace Automation Defense Manufacturing & Prototyping Materials Robotics

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    Transcript

    00:00:05 In a new discovery Dr. Svetlana Sukashvili and Dr. Frank Guardia, along with their team of researchers at Texas A&M University and the United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory have created materials with morphing abilities derived from a single parent polymer.

    00:00:24 These synthetic materials can be made super soft or very hard, they can heal themselves if damaged, and can even morph into another shape. How is all this possible from a single polymer? The secret is in the materials chemistry. Let's take a closer look. The material is made from long chains and molecules called a polymer. Dangling like charms on a bracelet are cross-linking molecules that hang from

    00:00:48 these long polymer chains. At high temperatures, the cross-linking molecules remain disconnected freeing the polymer chains from each other, but at lower temperatures these molecules click together cross-linking the polymer chains and so a tear in these materials at room temperature causes the molecules to click back together naturally

    00:01:05 healing any damage like magic. The same polymer can be made into softer or harder materials by decreasing or increasing the number of crosslinking molecules. Their ability to easily melt also makes them suitable for 3d printing complex objects with layers of different stiffness. These synthetic materials have the potential to be used in a host of

    00:01:24 futuristic applications including realistic prosthetic limbs, self-healing helicopter blades, and even cutting-edge military applications like morphing unmanned air vehicles. [Music]