When it comes to 3D printing, the sky is the limit. As 3D printing technology continues to advance, applications can be as far reaching as airplane and automobile parts to medical devices and even anatomically correct, biocompatible models. Although 3D printing technology is developing at a rapid pace, the technology itself is not new. It emerged in the 1980s as a means of creating rapid prototypes. In recent years the applications for 3D printed models have evolved with the available hardware, software, and printable materials. Evolving technology, paired with the creative and innovative minds of scientists, engineers, and physicians, has been the launching pad for developments within 3D printing technology specific to healthcare. One way 3D printing technology is poised to create better patient outcomes is in creating an anatomically and patient-specific models to aid in surgery and medical procedures. With the capability to 3D ...
Imagine a future with “self-healing” car panels that can repair themselves after a minor scratch. Or imagine the cost savings (passed to the customer) made possible by more efficient microfabrication — the manufacturing costs of semiconductors, for example, would be slashed while retaining the enviable properties of being strong, lightweight, and even recyclable! All of these future applications could be possible very soon thanks to a new class of polymers discovered by IBM Research scientists. Innovation like this could affect everything from adhesives to airplane construction.
The researchers have found a new class of polymers, along with colleagues at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the University of California at Berkeley, and Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Unique Properties
While a commercial name has yet to be revealed, the chemical name for these new polymers is hemiaminal dynamic covalent networks (HDCNs); when HDCNs are further cyclized at high temperatures, poly(hexahydrotriazine)s (PHTs) are produced. The unique properties of these new polymers include greater strength than bone, lightweight structure, resistance to cracking, resistance to solvents, and the ability to self-heal (morph back to original shape). They are 100% recyclable and, when used as a resin, can be a fill to reinforce composite material. Polymers with these properties are ideal for the transportation, aerospace and microelectronics industries and could transform their manufacturing and fabrication processes.
Materials used in the transportation and aerospace industries are exposed to harsh environmental conditions, which can lead to stress fractures within current materials, compromising strength. These materials generally are not recyclable because once cured, they cannot be restructured, so they are thrown out. In the field of microelectronics, parts and chips cannot be re-formed once they’ve been manufactured, so they are discarded if found to be defective they are discarded. Semiconductor materials are expensive and waste costs the manufacturer money.
Computer-Assisted Design
The last class of “new” polymers was introduced to the world decades ago. Most new discoveries were created using slow and methodical experimentation methods in the lab. Current research examines existing polymers by combining them with other known polymers or adjusting their functional groups to get a desired effect. A new process created by IBM uses cutting edge computing to determine novel polymer-forming reactions, taking much of the time and guesswork out of the equation.
James Hedrick, advanced organic materials scientist at IBM Research, said:
Although there has been significant work in high-performance materials, today’s engineered polymers still lack several fundamental attributes. New materials innovation is critical to addressing major global challenges, developing new products and emerging disruptive technologies […] We’re now able to predict how molecules will respond to chemical reactions and build new polymer structures with significant guidance from computation that facilitates accelerated materials discovery. This is unique to IBM and allows us to address the complex needs of advanced materials for applications in transportation, microelectronic or advanced manufacturing.
These new polymers will remain undamaged when subjected to basic water (high pH), however, the polymer breaks down into its original material when exposed to acidic water (low pH) allowing for reuse. Strength can be increased by combining carbon nanotubes or other strengthening filler with the polymer and exposing it to high-temperature heating. The resulting polymer has properties similar to metal yet it remains lightweight. The use of this material in cars and airplanes would result in less waste and lower fuel costs.
Self-Healing Polymer
At just over room temperature, an elastic gel polymer is formed. While it is still stronger than other polymers, its elasticity is due to solvents trapped within the structure. One of the most extraordinary and surprising properties of these stretchy polymers is their ability to be self-healing. When a piece is completely severed and when held touching the two ends together, completely “self-healing” as bonds reform between the pieces reforming one solid piece almost instantly. The “self-healing” is possible due to the hydrogen-bonding interactions within the specific polymer structure.
So in the world of polymers, IBM and their esteemed associates get the blue ribbon, and as far as ribbons go, it seems green is the new blue.
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