Collaborate Disseminate
The University of Chicago has announced they have created a material that behaves like plastic but conducts like metal. They also say they don’t fully understand why it works yet. …read more Continue reading Conducting Plastic Can Replace Metal
Along with their use in foods, soybeans have also been utilized as a source of graphene, a greener alternative to mulch, and an ingredient in longer-lasting tires. Now, they’re additionally being used to extend the life of asphalt roads.Continue Readin… Continue reading New biopolymer gives asphalt roads a soybean-based-boost
Plastics can be hard, plastics can be soft, but can plastics be both at the same time? Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have been exploring this question and produced a first-of-a-kind material that is pliable in some sections and stiff … Continue reading Light-activated “smart plastic” has its soft spots
Although there are now a number of skin-worn sensors which identify metabolites in sweat, the technology is limited in what it can detect, plus the sensors often aren’t reusable. A new one, however, utilizes a “molecularly imprinted polymer” to be much… Continue reading New sweat sensor uses molecule-shaped holes to detect more metabolites
In wastewater produced by the textile industry and others, dye is one of the primary pollutants. A newly developed synthetic polymer is capable of removing that dye from the water, plus it can be cleaned up and reused to treat more wastewater.Continue … Continue reading New polymer removes dye from wastewater, and can be reused afterwards
While medical electrodes are vital to the monitoring of electrical activity within the body, they’re typically rigid and costly, plus they don’t stay on well when the wearer is moving. A new sugar-cube-derived electrode, however, addresses those shortc… Continue reading Sugar cubes used to create better-performing medical electrodes
Finding a scratch on your car is a special kind of heartbreak, but in the future they might be gone before you even notice. Scientists in Korea have developed a coating that self-heals scratches in as little as 30 minutes when exposed to sunlight.Conti… Continue reading Self-healing coating repairs car scratches with 30 minutes of sunlight
Construction is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, so finding new materials and methods is a crucial goal. Researchers at Flinders University have now developed a new type of polymer, made out of industrial waste, that can be forme… Continue reading Polymer bricks made of industrial waste bond together without mortar
For as long as I’ve been driving, I’ve been changing oil. Longer than that, actually — before I even got my license, I did a lot of the maintenance and …read more Continue reading Big Chemistry: Synthetic Oil
Plastics, by and large, are well-understood materials. Not as strong as most metals, but often much lighter, these man-made polymers have found innumerable applications that have revolutionized the way we …read more Continue reading Two-Dimensional Polymer Is A New Ultra-Strong Material